Cowboys' win over Panthers serves as a reminder of very expensive decision that's ahead for worried front office
The Dallas Cowboys beat the Carolina Panthers 30-14 in Week 15 to improve to 6-8 (and indirectly worsen their draft stock, which many fans seem to care more about these days, whether right or wrong). In large part, the win happened because of a ferocious Mike Zimmer-led defense that forced four Bryce Young turnovers and sacked […]
The Dallas Cowboys beat the Carolina Panthers 30-14 in Week 15 to improve to 6-8 (and indirectly worsen their draft stock, which many fans seem to care more about these days, whether right or wrong).
In large part, the win happened because of a ferocious Mike Zimmer-led defense that forced four Bryce Young turnovers and sacked the Panthers quarterback six times. There were plenty of standouts from the defensive outing, including Micah Parsons, Jourdan Lewis, and fifth-round rookie Marist Liufau, who stepped up amid DeMarvion Overshown's season-ending injury.
However, it was one player in particular that might've helped himself with a great day as he plays out his final few games under contract: DT Osa Odighizuwa.
On Sunday morning, hours before the game, Ian Rapoport from NFL Network published a story on Stephen Jones' comments on negotiating with Micah Parsons in the upcoming offseason. Naturally, it'll be the next big storyline in Dallas once football is over. But on the Cowboys' win over the Panthers, it was Odighizuwa's upcoming contract negotiations that kept coming back to mind.
Seriously, how about Osa? The Panthers had no answer for No. 97 as he racked up four quarterback hits, one sack, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. He's been on fire as of late and will get paid next year, be it in Dallas or elsewhere.
The Cowboys front office, which notoriously drags out contract negotiations with key players, might even be forced to place the franchise tag on Osa to have a longer negotiating period. They'll have to do something if they don't want to lose him but with the rising prices at defensive tackle, it won't be a cheap deal.
Earlier this week, Stephen Jones told the media they expected another "tight" offseason as far as spending goes, which hints at the fact that a deal for Odighizuwa is far from a guarantee.
“I think we knew we were gonna have a challenge in (2024) and 2025), it’s gonna be really, really tight," Jones told reporters via Jon Machota from The Athletic. "We still have some money left over from guys who are not here today, and you’re gonna have some other guys that won’t be here in the future that you’re still gonna have their cap count.”
One thing is for sure, if they want to keep Odighizuwa, they'll have to pay up. And boy, does he deserve it.
Mike McCarthy could take Cowboys’ decision out of their hands by taking another NFL job when his contract expires
Would be a wild scenario for the league.
