Copyright SB Nation
Only the Cowboys could find a way to potentially be involved in the two biggest trades of the NFL season, both involving the same position. Months after Dallas shipped Micah Parsons to the Packers in a pre-season blockbuster, now they’re being linked to another of the most high profile pass rushers in the league. The latest comes amidst the Raiders’ complete and utter collapse, which has gone from hope that Pete Carroll could be a culture shift, into the kind of rotten culture shift when milk turns sour. That has led to rampant speculation that Las Vegas will blow their roster up to rebuild, and according to Trey Wingo the Cowboys are calling about Maxx Crosby. It would be another stunning twist in an already unbelievable 2025 season. Let’s dive into the moving pieces here to determine how possible this deal actually is. Why it could happen The Cowboys are such a curious team this year. One week they’re losing to the Panthers, the next they’re taking the Packers to overtime, or beating the Commanders. There’s a lot of inconsistency here, especially on a defense that has woefully missed Micah Parsons. Despite playing the same position, Crosby and Parsons are extremely different. Parsons is a more gifted natural pass rusher who uses his speed moves to obliterate the edge, while Crosby is more of an effort/strength rusher — but he’s also better against the run. It’s that last element which is interesting, because one of Jerry Jones’ selling points on dealing away Parsons is that he wanted the Cowboys to be tougher against the run. That hasn’t materialized, but Crosby would at least help seal one edge of the field. If we look at this from the Raiders’ perspective they find themselves on the precipice. This organization has been living on borrowed time before Crosby demands a trade, because he’s wanted to play for a competitive organization — and Las Vegas keeps taking steps backwards. At this point he’s 28-years-old, and has given the Raiders six solid seasons. It’s unlikely he’ll be willing to stick around for another attempted rebuild, with the only path forward being to tear apart the team, trade off the parts they have, and try to build through the draft. The Raiders figure to be one of the biggest sellers are the deadline. The Cowboys have a window to compete if they’re a buyer. This could happen. Why it won’t happen Where is the money coming from? Dallas has the cap space to add Crosby this season without a problem, but 2026 becomes a real challenge for them. Right now they have a projected $2.4M in open cap space, and need to rework deals in order to field a full roster — let alone accommodate Crosby, especially if they want to keep George Pickens as well. Curiously they do have an out on Kenny Clark’s deal, which they would have to exercise if they made this trade. That would free up $21.5M against the cap — but that space may have already been earmarked for a Pickens extension. This would mean that more contracts would need to be reworked and restructured to try and retain both players. That’s tricky to find. Crosby carries a 2026 cap hit of $35.8M from the extension he signed with the Raiders. That’s roughly the amount of money the Cowboys would need to find in their cap. How far is Dallas willing to go to make this deal possible? Would they restructure and extend Dak Prescott again? Would the front office be willing to make tough a cut like Trevon Diggs? It becomes a question of how fan the Cowboys are willing to compromise their team in other areas to bring in Crosby, and whether or not they’d be a better football team with him, taking into account the other areas they’d be risking in the process. Dallas has been making a lot of big moves lately. Essentially this would fundamentally put them right back in their initial bind of having too many stars and not enough cap space to work with. That is the biggest road block here. What’s the likelihood this will happen? There are a lot of moving pieces, and more moving pieces decreases the chances of a deal being made. That said, nobody in the league loves making a big deal like the Dallas Cowboys, and this is one that makes a lot of sense in terms of giving the team the firepower to push for the playoffs. The NFC is wide open. The Cowboys have the draft capital to make a deal. Ultimately it comes down to whether or not the Raiders want to try and keep their star pass rusher happy, or if try and do right by him and send him to a team in a position to compete. Now the real fun begins. If teams get a whiff that Las Vegas is hearing offers on Crosby there will be a feeding frenzy of offers, but the Cowboys are still in the driver’s seat. We’ll give it a 40% chance of happening. Pretty decent odds for a potential trade of this magnitude.
