Osa Odighizuwa is a name the Cowboys should consider extending to get ahead of things.
With Cowboys superstars Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, and CeeDee Lamb the focal point of offseason contract talk, it’s no surprise that Osa Odighizuwa isn’t getting much attention. But the fourth-year defensive tackle will become a free agent in 2025, and it might behoove Dallas to get ahead of things and extend him sooner rather than later.
Sometimes it feels like for Parsons to be so good, the rest of the Cowboys’ 2021 draft class had to be busts. CB Kelvin Joseph certainly was, and so far the returns on DE Chauncey Golston, CB Nahshon Wright, LB Jabril Cox, OL Josh Ball, and other picks have been little to none. Thankfully, Odighizuwa hasn’t followed suit and has been a productive non-Parsons pick.
His work isn’t flashy, but it’s effective. Back in January, Odighizuwa was graded as a top-15 DT throughout the league for 2023. Though he only averages three sacks a year, Dallas’ 3-tech helps Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and others to attack and occasionally makes his own splash plays. He’s more than delivered on his draft status, having started nearly every game for Dallas since his rookie season.
While the Cowboys did use last year’s first-rounder on Mazi Smith, that doesn’t preclude them from re-signing Odighizuwa. It would make sense to pair them for the next few years; Odighizuwa on his second contract while Smith plays out the next 3-4 years (if Dallas picks up the fifth-year option) of his rookie deal. Assuming Smith does settle into the nose tackle role, their styles of play should be complementary.
But given the contract needs for their premier offensive and defensive players, the Cowboys may not want to get into negotiations with Odighizuwa ahead of 2025. While they do have higher priorities in front of them, that creates the possibility that Odighizuwa elevates his play in this upcoming contract year. If so, that could make him far more expensive to re-sign next year than he would be now.
Granted, Odighizuwa’s camp may be hoping for that as well. They may not want to talk extension now, wanting to see if the DT can get his stock up before free agency. What if Dallas’ new defensive coordinator can do for Odighizuwa what he did for Linval Joseph, who went to two Pro Bowls during Mike Zimmer’s time in Minnesota? That would significantly boost Odighizuwa’s leverage from where it is now.
Osa Odighuzwa is hardly on the same level as some of his Cowboys teammates who are in the middle of negotiations. But as a guy whose impact on the field goes underrated, so too would be the impact of losing him in next year’s free agency. Perhaps this pushes Odighizuwa and the team to the table faster than expected ahead of this year’s training camp.
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