Cowboys trade DT Osa Odighizuwa to 49ers, 1 year into $80M contract

The Dallas Cowboys are trading Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick, they announced on Wednesday, just a year after signing the defensive tackle to a lucrative extension. The pick will be No. 92 in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Cowboys also traded defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to the Tennessee Titans, a year after signing him to a two-year, $6 million contract. The sides are swapping seventh-round picks, with Dallas receiving No. 218, the second pick of the round, and sending No. 225 to Tennessee.

Like all NFL trades, both deals are contingent on the players passing physicals with their new teams.

Odighizuwa, 27, signed a four-year, $80 million contract with Dallas last March, just before he was set to hit free agency for the first time. In the fall, the Cowboys acquired two Pro Bowl defensive tackles in trades, getting Kenny Clark from the Green Bay Packers in the Micah Parsons deal in August and then Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets at the trade deadline.

A third-round pick by the Cowboys in 2021, Odighizuwa has started 76 of 84 games in five seasons, collecting 17 sacks, 81 quarterback hits and 216 tackles (34 for loss). He has missed only one game in his career. He had started 62 consecutive games for Dallas until November, after Williams’ arrival. Odighizuwa started just two of the Cowboys’ final six games of 2025, though he still played more than 55 percent of the snaps in each.

Odighizuwa, who received a $20 million signing bonus last year, would have counted $20.75 million against Dallas’ cap in 2026. Instead, the Cowboys will save $4.75 million of that, leaving $16 million in dead money. The 49ers will inherit the final three years and $57.75 million of the contract, with a $16.75 million cap hit in 2026.

Thomas, 30, is a nine-year veteran who was drafted No. 3 in 2017 by the 49ers. He was a starter for much of his first two seasons in San Francisco, but has been primarily a backup since, starting 11 games across seven seasons for the 49ers, Raiders, Jets — where he played for Robert Saleh, now the Titans’ head coach — and Cowboys. He played just one season in Dallas, playing in 16 games (starting two) and compiling 27 tackles (three for loss) and no sacks.

Why the Cowboys made these moves

It became clearer and clearer at the combine in Indianapolis that Odighizuwa could be the odd man out in a defensive front that added Williams and Clark. All three players’ contracts average at least $20 million per season. It didn’t make sense to have that much money tied up in three interior defensive linemen, especially with all of the Cowboys’ other defensive holes.

Dallas’ defense is changing under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Odighizuwa and Thomas getting traded within minutes of each other shows that the Cowboys did not believe they were great fits for their new 3-4 base scheme.

The 49ers are getting a quality player in Odighizuwa. It just made more sense for Dallas to get rid of his salary while also gaining a top-100 draft pick in the process. The Cowboys now have eight picks in this year’s draft. Before this move, they were without second- and third-round picks because of the trades for George Pickens and Williams.

As for Thomas, he started two of the 16 games he played in during his only season with the Cowboys. He didn’t make many splash plays, but he was considered a hard worker and quality locker room guy. He was Dallas’ nominee for last season’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer

49ers address a major need

The 49ers signaled an intent to land a veteran defensive tackle when they narrowly missed out on adding free agent John Franklin-Myers, who was snapped up by the Robert Saleh-led Tennessee Titans earlier in the week. The 49ers have youth at the position after drafting a pair of tackles, Alfred Collins and CJ West, early on last year. They were looking for a veteran to pair with Collins, who logged more than 500 snaps in the regular and postseason combined.

One of their veterans from last season, Jordan Elliott, also plans to sign with the Titans. Two others, Kalia Davis and Kevin Givens, became unrestricted free agents on Wednesday. That group struggled to bring down quarterbacks in 2025. The 49ers finished with a league-low 20 sacks, with the entire defensive tackle group contributing just 2.5 sacks. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer

How Odighizuwa fits in S.F.

Odighizuwa, meanwhile, is no sack master. He had 3.5 last season, which is about his yearly average. However, he had 52 quarterback pressures in 2025 and 60 the year before. To put that in perspective, Elliott led the 49ers’ interior linemen last year with 16 quarterback pressures.

Odighizuwa’s arrival likely means that, when healthy, the 49ers’ starting defensive line will include him and Collins in the middle with Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams at defensive end. The 49ers also on Wednesday tendered restricted free-agent defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, who started 12 games last season, with a $3.5 million qualifying offer.

New defensive coordinator Raheem Morris likes to have a smaller, linebacker-like player coming off the edge at times. As of now, the 49ers don’t have an ideal prospect for that spot on the roster, but they could add one in free agency or the draft. Morris’ Atlanta Falcons defense finished second in the league last year with 57 sacks.