49ers make another huge roster upgrade, this time on defense
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco 49ers have once again taken a swing at bolstering their roster, this time on the defensive side of the ball, with a trade for veteran defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.
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The Dallas Cowboys sent Odighizuwa to their historic rival in exchange for a third-round pick on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. While Dallas signed the 27-year-old to an $80 million contract last season, the organization also traded for two more defensive tackles in Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. That left Odighizuwa as the odd man out, and it once again made him one of the most sought-after names of the offseason.
Odighizuwa is poised to be the No. 1 interior defensive lineman for his new team. While he is talented in his own right, that's not saying too much with what's left of this Niners unit. San Francisco did not tender 2022 draft pick Kalia Davis, officially making him a free agent; the team lost Jordan Elliott to the Titans; and the 49ers will likely let Kevin Givens walk in free agency, leaving Alfred Collins, C.J. West and Sebastian Valdez behind as the remaining defensive tackles. Collins looked promising last season, but West was mostly a rotational player and Valdez spent much of the year on the practice squad.
For a team that looked quite shaky on defense last season - even with the season-ending injuries to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner in mind - this is quite a significant upgrade. Odighizuwa provides an interior pass-rushing presence that has been nonexistent on the 49ers over the past couple seasons. His numbers last season might not leap off the page, but consider the fact that every defensive tackle on the Niners combined for 2.5 total sacks, while Odighizuwa, even in Dallas' crowded position room, racked up 3.5.
But what really makes this improvement exciting is who he'll be playing next to: Nick Bosa. Anyone who plays alongside one of the best edge rushers in football will almost certainly see a statistical boost, but there's precedent for how well Odighizuwa specifically can play next to an elite defensive end. In 2024, alongside first-team All-Pro Micah Parsons, he was 16th among all defensive linemen in quarterback pressures with 54 - tied with Khalil Mack, and one more than Maxx Crosby - but was second among all defensive tackles. The only interior lineman above him was Kansas City's Chris Jones, who was also a first-team All-Pro.
The Niners are paying for what they're getting, even outside of the trade itself. Odighizuwa's $16.75 million base salary is the fifth-highest cap hit on the team, according to Spotrac, behind big names like the aforementioned Bosa, Trent Williams (whose final cap hit is still up in the air), Brock Purdy and Fred Warner. It's a lot to pay, but there's one stat in particular that justifies it more than any other: In five seasons, the 27-year-old has missed just one game. If that trend continues in San Francisco, it'll be more than worth it.
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This article originally published at 49ers make another huge roster upgrade, this time on defense.