Cowboys agree to deal with fourth-year DT

The franchise tag will not be needed in the case of Osa Odighizuwa. The fourth-year defensive tackle has reached an agreement on a pact that will keep him in place with the Cowboys well beyond 2025.

The team and player have agreed to terms on a four-year, $80M contract, per Odighizuwa’s agent. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds that the deal contains $58M in guarantees, including a $20M signing bonus. He will be on the books through 2028. The team has since announced the deal, one which Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes will include $22.25M in compensation this year.

Contract talks were known to be ongoing in this situation, and Odighizuwa represented a logical priority for the Cowboys with respect to in-house players being retained. A long-term deal was a target for both parties, but this afternoon’s franchise tag deadline loomed as a key checkpoint. Dallas was prepared to use the tag to prevent Odighizuwa from hitting the market, but that will no longer be necessary.

Applying the tag would have come for $25.12M, and the Cowboys would have been required to carry that figure on their cap sheet had no mult-year agreement been worked out. Odighizuwa had been connected to an asking price of around $20M, though, and Tuesday’s pact will allow for Dallas to meet it while also having the flexibility brought about by a long-term deal. At the age of 26, expectations will be high for continued production moving forward.

Odighizuwa handled a steady workload across his first three seasons, and his output remained consistent during that span. In 2024, the former third-rounder saw his playing time jump to 78% and he responded with new personal highs in a number of categories. Odighizuwa racked up 4.5 sacks, 33 pressures and 23 quarterback hits, a sign that further development as a disruptive interior presence could be coming in 2025 and beyond.

Between his age and his upside, the UCLA product was on course to be among the free agents on the market this spring. Odighizuwa was arguably the top defensive tackle option, a title which will likely now fall to the Eagles’ Milton Williams. The latter’s market will be increasingly interesting to monitor once the negotiating window opens next week now that Odighizuwa is no longer available.

The Cowboys’ front seven was a sore spot in 2024. The team ranked 29th against the run, so changes along the defensive interior and/or at the linebacker positions will be required for improvement to be seen. The scheme used by new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus relies heavily on having a disruptive three-technique, however, and with Odighizuwa’s future now assured the Cowboys will continue having that up front.

Dallas has former first-rounder Mazi Smith attached to his rookie contract, but the rest of the team’s DT depth chart could see changes this offseason. Veterans Carlos Watkins and Linval Joseph are pending free agents, and their departures would create the need for inexpensive replacements in free agency or the arrival of rookies during the draft. Given this investment, a lucrative deal elsewhere along the defensive front (where DeMarcus Lawrence and other edge rushers could soon depart) would come as a surprise.

The defensive tackle market has surged in recent years. Fourteen players at the position are attached to a contract averaging at least $21M per season; Odighizuwa has not quite reached that mark but this deal represents a massive raise compared to his rookie pact. After taking less (in terms of annual earnings) than what one or two franchise tags would have paid out, his future for several years is now secure.