Jerry Jones Opens Up on Cowboys' Osa Odighizuwa Trade, Praises Star DT

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is sharing the thought process behind trading star Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers.

Jerry Jones on the NFL Honors Red Carpet before Super Bowl LX at Palace of Fine Arts. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys have made a handful of trades to start the new NFL calendar year, with all three trades involving defensive linemen. The team traded away star defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers and veteran Solomon Thomas to the Tennessee Titans, while adding Pro Bowler Rashan Gary to the mix.

Odighizuwa's trade stood out after the team extended him just a season ago, but it opens up more opportunity for the team moving forward in the offseason.

After making the move, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones opened up about the trade, while praising Odighizuwa on his way out.

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa takes the field with a flag honoring late teammate Marshawn Kneeland | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

“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," Jones said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. "That’s not taking anything away from him individually, but we’ve got two outstanding football players (Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark), we have other backup players, plus we don’t want to rule out drafting a player. So, we thought that was the best move.

“(Odighizuwa) has such high character. He’s done such an amazing job in his career. You could say, ‘Well, aren’t you going the wrong way when people of his quality, his caliber, aren’t on the team?’ But that’s the reason we were able to get what we thought was a really beneficial result for the team. We got the (third-round draft pick). (That pick) will be very helpful to us. And (that) also lets us put those resources that we’re going to spend there in some other spots we need help.”

Throughout his five years with the Cowboys, Odighizuwa recorded 216 sacks, 81 quarterback hits, 34 tackles for a loss, 34 tackles for a loss, and 17 sacks.

While the loss of Odighizuwa stings after signing a four-year, $80 million contract extension last offseason, the Cowboys have managed to build a strong interior defensive line with its recent trades and allows the flexibility to make the move.

And now, the team picks up some extra draft capital as its continues its defensive rebuild.

— Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter for more free coverage from Dallas Cowboys on SI —