The Dallas Cowboys desperately need help pressuring the quarterback, and one of the market’s most reliable, yet underrated, unrestricted free agents could be the answer.
Fifth-year pass rusher Odafe Oweh was traded from the Baltimore Ravens to the Los Angeles Chargers midway through the 2025 season, and the change of scenery couldn’t have come at a better time. Oweh failed to record a sack over the first half of the year in Baltimore, but he flipped the script after the trade, racking up 7.5 sacks with the Bolts.
Speaking on All-City DLLS, longtime Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. and host Jeff Cavanaugh pointed to Oweh as a potential target.
Hill made it clear that if the Cowboys are going to overspend, it should be for a true game-changer like Trey Hendrickson or Maxx Crosby. Oweh, though, is a player Dallas wouldn't have to worry about resetting the market for.
"If I’m going to target somebody . . . Odafe Oweh," Hill said.
Odafe Oweh could be the perfect pass rusher for the Dallas Cowboys
Cavanaugh added that the Cowboys don't necessarily need to bust the budget by breaking the bank. They can spread the wealth around and Cavanaugh is completely on board with signing Oweh.
"When I'm busting the budget, I'm actually trying to do Jerry Jones a favor here, and not just say, Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson or something that I don't know is that realistic," Cavanaugh said. "So, in this case, I'm going to (Odafe Oweh) that will be one of the better free agents that will be on the market this year. I don't need a perfect player."
Pro Football Focus projects Oweh to land a four-year deal worth $77 million, including $40 million guaranteed. That checks in at $19.2 million per year, which would rank 17th among edge rushers. That's a fair number, and it could end up in the 20-25 range once more DEs sign long-term deals.
Still just 27 years old, Oweh is trending up after rebounding in the second half of 2025 with the Chargers. For as quiet as he was with Baltimore before the trade, he still finished with a 78.0 pass-rush grade, which ranked 17th out of 115 edge defenders, per PFF.
By restructuring contracts and extending deserving players, the Cowboys can free up enough money to afford Oweh and another free agent instead of breaking the bank and giving up draft capital for Crosby. While Crosby would be nice, it's not the complete end of the world if Dallas doesn't trade for him.
It's worth noting that Jesse Minter, the Chargers' former defensive coordinator who helped guide Oweh's strong second half in 2025, is now the Ravens' head coach. That makes Baltimore a team to watch in the Oweh sweepstakes.
The Cowboys should be involved regardless of his market.