The Dallas Cowboys obtained beneath the 2026 wage cap variety of $301.2 million and added a sorely wanted Day 2 draft choose within the 2026 NFL Draft with one transfer.
They traded 27-year-old defensive deal with Osa Odighizuwa to a historic NFC rival, the San Francisco 49ers, in trade for a 2026 third-round draft choose (No. 92 total), per CBS Sports activities NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
Dallas had a logjam at defensive deal with after buying and selling for Inexperienced Bay Packers three-time Professional Bowl defensive deal with Kenny Clark as a part of the Micah Parsons commerce every week earlier than the beginning of the 2025 season after which additionally buying and selling for the New York Jets‘ Quinnen Williams, a four-time Professional Bowler, on the commerce deadline final season. CBS Sports activities requested new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker how he deliberate to deal with the play time for the three of them at his introductory press convention in February, and on the time, he felt it was manageable.
“I believe you will have alternative ways of doing that. 5-down [defensive linemen] is considered one of them. There are some totally different four-down constructions you are able to do with that as properly,” Parker mentioned. “There’s six-down displays you are able to do that with as properly. So like I mentioned earlier, the defensive position after which profitable the sport upfront is important. So how we are able to change the maths and get our greatest gamers on the sphere will at all times be part of what we do.”
Regardless of not having any Professional Bowl choices, Odighizuwa has been one of many NFL’s finest at getting after the quarterback the final two seasons. His 112 quarterback pressures are the third-most on the defensive deal with place since 2024 behind solely Zach Allen’s 148 and Chris Jones‘ 137. At 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighing 280 kilos, Parker and proprietor/common Jerry Jones made the choice that he was the odd man out. Clark, who stands at 6-feet-3-inches tall and weighs 314 kilos, is constructed extra ideally to be the nostril deal with in Parker’s 3-4 scheme with 4-3 spacing.
Plus, Parker and Clark had a relationship relationship to when the previous was a defensive high quality management coach in Inexperienced Bay from 2019 to 2020. Dallas now has one choose on Day 2 of the draft after buying and selling their second-round choice to the Jets for Williams and their third-round option to the Pittsburgh Steelers in trade for vast receiver George Pickens.
The 49ers obtained a motivated Odighizuwa after rating final within the NFL in sacks in 2025 with simply 20 as a staff. San Francisco’s 1.18 sacks per recreation ranked because the fewest by a playoff staff all-time, per CBS Sports activities Analysis.
So who made out with a greater grade on this commerce? Take a look at our grades for each squads under.
San Francisco 49ers: B+
As famous above, the 49ers had a large pass-rush want. That was very true on the defensive deal with spot with San Francisco’s 49ers combining for simply 1.5 sacks, 46 quarterback pressures and a 5.1% quarterback stress price in 2025. These had been all of the fewest in every metric on the defensive deal with place among the many league’s 32 groups.
Odighizuwa will present an enormous enhance to that place in San Francisco, and parting with a third-round choose to fill that want is fairly good worth. Between him turning 28 in August and having three years left on a four-year, $80 million contract, the 49ers made away with strong worth. If this was a fourth-round choose or decrease, the grade would have been within the A spread.
Dallas Cowboys: C+
The Cowboys traded away a participant beneath 30 on a productive contract to restock their draft capital and to reset their cap house. Shifting Clark would have netted a decrease return, but it surely in all probability would have made extra sense for them to try this after which draft an even bigger defensive deal with.
Dallas made this transfer out of desperation, and whereas Clark’s physique is a greater match, Odighizuwa is a greater participant long run at this stage of their respective careers.
