Maxx Crosby #98 of the Las Vegas Raiders is connected to a trade to the Dallas Cowboys
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Maxx Crosby #98 of the Las Vegas Raiders is connected to a trade to the Dallas Cowboys
It certainly seems that, as the new NFL year is set to dawn in the next few days (March 11, officially, with plenty of movement and jockeying before then), the Dallas Cowboys are as prepared as ever to make a major move, and–maybe not coincidentally–the Raiders are finally ready to make their own move on a potential trade of star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby.
The Cowboys need a pass-rusher, a true centerpiece that can get after a quarterback. Crosby is among the truly elite in the game, and happens to be a Dallas-area native. This just seems like a move that the team needs to make happen.
Except, of course, that there is a cost. And the reported cost that the Raiders are seeking is two first-round picks plus a useful player. That’s where things get sticky for the Cowboys, who would be willing to give up a pick for Crosby, and would be willing to send out a player.
But two first-rounders? Dallas won’t go for that, according to new reporting from around the NFL.
Cowboys Won’t Part With Too Much Draft Capital for Maxx Crosby
NFL Network’s Jane Slater, in fact, reports on Twitter/X that there is, indeed, Cowboys interest on Crosby. But there’s a hard ceiling on what the team would cough up for him.
She wrote, “On Maxx Crosby and the Cowboys being at play here….here is what I’m being told from a team source. ‘Raiders are talking to a lot of people. But we would not give up two first rounders.’ That’s the situation now. Will that change? I don’t know but I checked for those of you interested.”
Maxx Crosby a Different Case Than Micah Parsons
Essentially, it seems, the Raiders are seeking from the Cowboys and others the same package that the Cowboys got back last August when they dealt away Micah Parsons to Green Bay. The Packers sent back first-round picks in 2026 (No. 20 this year) and 2027, plus Kenny Clark, who started up front for the Cowboys this season.
But there are significant differences between Crosby and Parsons, the most important being that Parsons was 25 and Crosby is 29. And though Parsons did, in fact, see his season ended by a devastating knee injury this year, Crosby is also coming off a knee surgery (meniscus) this season, and was slowed by ankle injuries in 2024.
Still, Crosby still managed 10.0 sacks in 14 games last season, and 7.5 in 2024, despite being dinged up. He had 14.5 sacks in 2024, when he played all 17 games and led the NFL with 23 tackles for a loss.
Cowboys ‘Have the Ammunition’ for a Trade
For The Athletic’s Jon Machota, the feeling about the Cowboys and Crosby is much the same–the Cowboys have interest, but they have no interest in an overpay. The other issue that the Raiders have is that Crosby, for the first time in his career, does not want to be with the franchise anymore. There is some pressure on Las Vegas to get a deal done.
The path for Crosby to come to Dallas certainly is laid out, though teams like Chicago, New England and Philadelphia are factors, too.
Said Machota on “The 1-Star Podcast“: “There’s a chance. I wouldn’t count them completely out. I don’t know if they will be the highest bidder but I don’t know how you could completely dismiss it when you know what they need on defense, you know that they have two first-round picks—I don’t think they would part with both first-round picks. But you have the ammunition if they want to get it done.
“And I don’t see Maxx Crosby still being with the Raiders when the 2026 season starts. I would say there’s probably a handful of teams that could make it happen, and the Cowboys are one of them. I would not rule that out.”