Jerry Jones shocked a lot of Dallas Cowboys fans when he traded the 27-Year-Old defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.

They have traded Odighizuwa to a historic NFC rival, the San Francisco 49ers, in exchange for a 2026 third-round draft pick (No. 92 overall). Jones has opened up about why he did that.

“We needed to spread it around a little bit on what we have available to us with (the salary cap). More importantly, we can put it in some places that probably get more mileage out of what it’s done. So, we thought that was the best move. …”

As a result of this trade, the Cowboys will absorb $16m in dead money while opening $4.75m in salary cap space. That helped them afford keeping the other two expensive defensive tackles: Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark.

The Cowboys have restructured Clark’s contract. They have turned his $11 million roster bonus into a signing bonus, which has given them $8.8 million more cap space. Jerry Jones believes that trading Odighizuwa helped the Cowboys make this move and also gave them the chance to sign a young talent in the 2026 NFL draft.

But Osa Odighizuwa has been good for the Cowboys as well. He joined the Dallas Cowboys after the team selected him in the third round (75th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played his first five seasons with the Cowboys and recorded 115 solo tackles, 101 assists, and 17 sacks.

In 2025, He signed a four-year, $80 million deal that included a $20 million signing bonus. The contract guaranteed $52 million and carried an average annual value of $20 million.

The investment appeared justified, as he produced 52 quarterback pressures that season, ranking sixth among interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Perhaps that is why his trade left his teammate heartbroken.

This Trade by Jerry Jones Gave an NFL Star Heartbreak

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Donovan Ezeiruaku in the second round (44th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft, adding him to a defensive line that already featured Osa Odighizuwa. And he was heartbroken to let his teammate go.

Ezeiruaku posted a picture with Osa Odighizuwa on his Instagram story with the caption “My Brother”.

Given that Odighizuwa has said words of praise for the Cowboys’ rookie, they might have been close.

“Eze’s nice, I’m not gonna lie,” Odighizuwa said in July. “He’s very athletic, got good strength to him too despite what you might about his size, he’s very sneaky strong. I think he’s someone who is going to be able to come in and help us a lot.”

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Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Kalp Thaker