49ers add DT Odighizuwa in trade with Cowboys

Cam Inman, The Mercury News on Mar 11, 2026

Published in Football

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys didn’t let their storied NFC rivalry keep them from executing another trade, though it’s not of the 1992 Charles Haley trophy-seizing proportions, nor of the 2023 Trey Lance yard sale.

Rather than wait until next month’s draft to recharge their defensive front, the 49ers swapped a third-round pick Wednesday with the Cowboys for starting defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, a league source confirmed.

While that served as the 49ers’ biggest defensive move to start the league’s fiscal year, it came two days after they agreed to a free agency deal with Tampa Bay Buccaneers all-time leading wide receiver Mike Evans. The 49ers have to confirm either move, or the two-year, $8 million contract tight end Jake Tonges received.

Odighizuwa, a 2021 third-round draft pick out of UCLA, signed an extension last March that spanned four years, and of the potential $80 million, $20 million came in a signing bonus on Dallas’ books. His exit creates $4.75 million in much-needed cap room for the Cowboys, and the 49ers assume his $16 million salary in 2026.

The 49ers collected a league-low 20 sacks from their defense last season. Upgrading the pass rush was a top priority this offseason as Raheem Morris was inserted at defensive coordinator in place of now-Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh, while former Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus joins Kyle Shanahan’s staff as assistant head coach.

Odighizuwa figures to join Alfred Collins as the new starting duo on the interior, though Mykel Williams, Keion White and C.J. West also figure to rotate into that mix.

Collins is recovering from shoulder surgery and should be ready by the season opener in six months. As for last season’s starting defensive tackles, Jordan Elliott has reunited with Saleh in Tennessee, and Kalia Davis is on the market after the 49ers opted not to tender him as a restricted free agent.

Odighizuwa, 27, became a Cowboys captain last season. A 6-foot-2, 280-pound native of Dayton, Ohio, he racked up not just 34 tackles for loss and 17 sacks but 81 quarterback hits, including 11 each of his first two seasons and 23 each of the past two.

The 49ers’ remaining draft picks are in Round 1 (No. 27 overall), Round 2 (No. 58), and Round 4 (Nos. 127, 133, 138 and 139). The Cowboys receive the No. 58 pick in the third round, assuming Odighizuwa passes a physical, something that defensive end Maxx Crosby failed to do with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday to nix his trade from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Other options at defensive tackle for the 49ers are West, Sebastian Valdez and Evan Anderson.

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