{"id":37410,"date":"2025-02-27T15:15:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T15:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=37410"},"modified":"2025-02-27T15:15:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T15:15:03","slug":"nfl-rumors-cowboys-very-close-to-21-million-annual-contract-with-star-free-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=37410","title":{"rendered":"NFL rumors: Cowboys ‘very close’ to $21 million annual contract with star free agent"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Dallas Cowboys and defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa have had an interesting dialogue this season. The Cowboys were rumored to franchise tag Odighizuwa before being\u00a0very close to reaching a contract, according to Mike Fisher of Athlon Sports. A $23 million franchise tag would’ve been a pretty penny to pay.<\/p>\n

After all, the Cowboys have a good chunk of their salary tied up between CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. However, they know that keeping the core pieces will do wonders. They let Tony Pollard walk in free agency in the 2024 offseason and that truly hurt them.<\/p>\n

Not to mention, the Dallas defense was not anywhere close to where it was in 2023. They allowed the fifth-fewest points in the NFL that season. This previous season, they allowed the second-most. Although there were a plethora of injuries, it’s a new era in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Former head coach Mike McCarthy and the team parted ways, and now offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is stepping in. However, the team might not be getting a downgrade on defense. The Cowboys hired Matt Eberflus to be their next defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

After spending his previous seasons with the Chicago Bears, he’s ready to call plays once again. As a result, it could help Odighizuwa expand his game and take that leap.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys and Osa Odighizuwa could have a new contract soon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

Related Dallas Cowboys NewsArticle continues below<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Although this is simply a rumor, the proof is in the pudding. Odighizuwa is a budding defensive lineman who has shown improvements every season. Luckily, he had former offensive guard Zack Martin to compete against in practice. The future Hall of Famer likely gave Odighizuwa plenty of tips and tricks about his game.<\/p>\n

As a result, that could trickle over into next season, and he’s ready for that next leap in his playmaking ability. This was his most productive season, as he had 4.5 sacks, one pass deflection, and a forced fumble. Not to mention, he had 23 quarterback hits on the season, ten more than his previous year.<\/p>\n

General manager Jerry Jones must see the potential with the defensive tackle by giving him a contract of this magnitude. Also, Cowboys’ Stephen Jones opened up about a possible contract with Odighizuwa. At that time, he mentioned that a deal could likely get done. This rumor is further proof in the pudding about a potential contract.<\/p>\n

Either way, Dallas has more work to do than just squaring away the defensive tackle’s contract. Still, securing him for the future adds more promise to the defensive front moving forward.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cowboys and Osa Odighizuwa are very close to a $21 million annual contract, according to Mike Fisher of Athlon Sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":37411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-37410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl-rumors"],"yoast_head":"\nNFL rumors: Cowboys 'very close' to $21 million annual contract with star free agent - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=37410\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFL rumors: Cowboys 'very close' to $21 million annual contract with star free agent - 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