The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers rivalry isn’t what it once was, but it still means a lot to defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. That won’t change as the veteran changes sides in the rivalry this offseason.
The Cowboys and 49ers will renew their classic matchup during Week 10 in 2026. To say Odighizuwa has the contest circled on his calendar would be an understatement.
“It’s the game that you got a picture on the dartboard and you’re throwing a knife at the picture,” Odighizuwa said on The Richard Sherman Podcast. “Now, I just take down the picture and I put up the other picture, and I’m on the other side of it, but the energy is exactly the same.”
In the matchup, Odighizuwa will have an opportunity to play at his former home, AT&T Stadium, on November 15. That should add to its significance for the defensive tackle.
Odighizuwa started 76 games for the Cowboys from 2021-25. The team drafted him at No. 75 overall in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
During the first week of 2026 NFL free agency in March, the Cowboys traded Odighizuwa to the 49ers for a third-round pick.
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Dallas somewhat surprisingly traded Odighizuwa during the second week of March. Odighizuwa was always a well-rounded, reliable defensive lineman in his five seasons with the Cowboys.
But pundits expected the Cowboys to make significant changes to their defense this offseason. The Dallas defense was one of the worst in the league during 2025. The Cowboys were in the bottom third in most key defensive categories, including yards allowed, scoring defense and passing yards yielded.
With the Odighizuwa trade, the Cowboys got younger. With the pick they acquired for the defensive tackle, Dallas picked Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham at No. 92 overall.
In return, though, the Cowboys will have to face their former starting defensive tackle in a revenge game scenario during Week 10. The matchup should be extra special since it’s in Dallas.
Over five seasons with the Cowboys, Odighizuwa posted 216 combined tackles, including 34 tackles for loss. He also had 17 sacks, 81 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and one pass defense.
Last year, he had six tackles for loss, 23 quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks in 17 games.
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To replace Odighizuwa, the Cowboys inked fellow defensive tackles Otito Ogbonnia and Jonathan Bullard to 1-year contracts. Dallas also made the position a major point of emphasis in undrafted free agency. The team signed undrafted defensive tackles DJ Withers, Tommy Dunn and Kelvin Gilliam.
Those players will compete with Jay Toia to provide depth behind the team’s top defensive tackle, Kenny Clark.
Some projected Cowboys depth charts online have Quinnen Williams, LT Overton and Adedayo Odeleye listed as defensive ends. On the official Dallas offseason roster, though, those three players are also considered defensive tackles.
Odighizuwa played 692 defensive snaps in 2025. Over his five seasons, he averaged about 684 snaps on defense per season. It will be no small feat to replace him.
But the Cowboys have the bodies to overcome the loss of Odighizuwa along the defensive line. Hopefully for Dallas, those replacements will be as motivated to face the 49ers in Week 10 as Odighizuwa likely will be to see the Cowboys.
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