Osa Odighizuwa weighs in on 49ers-Cowboys rivalry

Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa knows the rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys better than most. After all, he spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Cowboys, the team that selected him in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Now, Odighizuwa finds himself on the other side of one of the league's most storied rivalries following his offseason trade to the 49ers. Adding even more intrigue, Dallas is on San Francisco's 2026 regular-season schedule, setting up a Week 10 showdown at AT&T Stadium—Odighizuwa's first game against his former team since arriving in the Bay Area.

Unsurprisingly, the veteran defender already has that matchup circled on his calendar.

"It's a game that you got a picture on a dartboard, and you're throwing the knife at the picture," Odighizuwa said on The Richard Sherman Podcast. "Now, I just take down the picture, and I put up the other picture, and I'm on the other side of it, but the energy is exactly the same."

The 49ers have dominated the recent series against the Cowboys, winning the last four meetings between the longtime NFC rivals, including two playoff victories.

San Francisco acquired Odighizuwa in exchange for a 2026 third-round draft pick, hoping he can help stabilize and strengthen the interior of a defensive front that struggled to consistently perform at a high level last season.

"It's a great organization from top to bottom," Odighizuwa said. "I feel like it's definitely just a winning mentality over here, so it's definitely cool to be a part of that and go from one good organization to another one, and just being in a great space.

"I feel like I'm part of the cavalry. I'm not coming to a place that's rebuilding anything at all. I'm just coming and adding to a great team and a lot of great players that's already here, so it's kind of awesome."