It's impossible to know for sure if the Dallas Cowboys are actively shopping Osa Odighizuwa, but nevertheless, Bryan Broaddus of 105.3 The Fan has heard that other teams have called to gauge Odighizuwa's availability after he was involved in Maxx Crosby trade negotiations.
Cowboys fans are officially on Odighizuwa watch now, and the team's latest signing won't do much to quiet the noise.
Per Mike Garafalo of NFL Network, the Cowboys and nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million contract.
The Dallas Cowboys have reportedly signed nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia
While free agency usually doesn’t start for Dallas until May and $3 million is a minor commitment, they wouldn’t sign a player on Day 2 of the legal tampering period unless they had plans for him. He's a serviceable rotational defensive tackle. Those don't grow on trees.
Ogbonnia obviously won’t leapfrog Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, or Odighizuwa (if he's still around) in the pecking order, but with only so many snaps to go around, the move raises more questions about Odighizuwa’s future.
Let's get one thing clear: Ogbonnia won't replace Odighizuwa. They play two completely different roles in defense.
At 6-4 and 320 pounds, Ogbonnia is a space-eater who can take on double teams to create rushing lanes for his teammates. He's not a world-beater by any stretch, but it's been a while since the Cowboys have had a capable nose tackle in their DT rotation, and he brings 17 starts and over 1,000 snaps to the room.
Odighizuwa, meanwhile, specializes in pressuring the quarterback. With 112 pressures, 10 sacks, and 34 quarterback hits over the last two seasons, he's among the best pass-rushing interior defenders in the NFL.
But, again, why add another interior defender? Solomon Thomas is also hanging around, so Ogbonnia gives Dallas five capable DT/NTs: Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas, and Otito Ogbonnia. There's a lot of snaps up for grabs, but that's a lot of mouths to feed.
Maybe the Cowboys are thinking that Williams and Clark will provide plenty of pressure up the middle as the starting DTs, while Thomas and Ogbonnia get their hands dirty in the trenches.
It's hardly foolproof logic, but Dallas hasn't touched Odighizuwa's contract despite him being a no-brainer restructure candidate. Why is that?
Nobody knows, and the Ogbonnia move only raises more questions.