Odafe Oweh is going to make a lot of money this offseason. The former first-round pick played for the Baltimore Ravens before being traded to the Los Angeles Chargers ahead of the NFL Trade Deadline in 2025.
Oweh will enter free agency ahead of year 6 in the NFL. The Los Angeles Chargers will try to bring back the pass rusher; however, he could hit the open market to test his value. Since arriving in Los Angeles, Oweh turned up the notch and became a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks.
He did not register one sack with the Ravens in 2025, but with the Bolts, he earned 7.5 sacks along with 28 tackles and three stuffs in the regular season. In the playoffs, Oweh had three sacks against Drake Maye and was one of the major reasons the game did not end worse than it did for LA.
Oweh finished 2024 with 10 sacks, so the last two years have given him enough firepower to command a large contract this offseason. According to Spotrac, Oweh has roughly a $19-20 million average and is projected to earn a 3-4 year contract as a 27-year old. He could very well command north of $20 million, considering how well he ended the 2025 season.
Let’s take a look at the four teams that could seriously benefit from the former Penn State product’s presence on the field, in no particular order.
Los Angeles Chargers
It would be a major mistake to let Oweh leave for another team in free agency. The Chargers benefited tremendously when throwing Oweh out there across from Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu, especially in the playoffs. Mack is a pending free agent as well, but Mack shocked many when he re-signed with the Bolts after being traded there from the Chicago Bears in 2022. If the Chargers decide not to franchise tag Mack, there is a slight possibility they decide to tag Oweh instead.
The Chargers lost Jesse Minter to the Ravens and hired Chris O’Leary as the new defensive coordinator. Making sure the Bolts continue to have a deadly pass rush will be at the top of O’Leary’s mind.
Signing Oweh to a 4-year $75 million contract should be enough to keep him in LA. If he commands more than $20 million per season, then the Chargers may look in a different direction.
Chicago Bears
The Bears need a strong defensive end to pair up with Montez Sweat. The Chicago defense was incredible in 2025, but the pass rush was at the bottom of the barrel. The Bears forced many turnovers and had a +22 turnover ratio (1st); however only had a combined 35 sacks (22nd) on the season. Sweat led with 10 on the year and had more than the rest of the defensive ends’ combined.
Bringing in Oweh would give them two solid pairs on the outside. Chicago could look to the draft to select a pass rusher in the early rounds, and many teams will. With the Bears being a Super Bowl contender, they may prefer the veteran presence.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have a strong defensive line that could get even better with Oweh in the building. The DT spots led by Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark will make the defensive rush game strong. Dante Fowler Jr. and Donovan Ezeiruaku are not a good enough pair on the outside to get to the quarterback.
The 2025 Cowboys defense was flat-out terrible. Nobody would deny that, and they need many pieces to improve. Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons are gone, so they need veteran talent to get back to the roots of this franchise.
The Cowboys and Bears tied with 35 team sacks in 2025.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs were not much better last season, with 37 total sacks. Oweh could be a Swiss-Army Knife for Tampa Bay. He comes from a similar defense as an outside linebacker on the edge. He could slide inside as well, pairing next to Vita Vea. It’s unclear if Lavonte David will continue playing or not, and if he does, in fact, retire, then the Bucs will need more veteran bodies on defense. Yaya Diaby led the Bucs with seven sacks last season.
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