The Dallas Cowboys certainly could've used Maxx Crosby.
In the end, though, the Las Vegas Raiders traded Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, not the Cowboys.
The reason why is both concrete but probably frustrating for Dallas fans. The Cowboys simply stood firm on what they'd give up, and it wasn't enough.
"Dallas kept a hard line throughout," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote on Sunday. "The franchise wasn't willing to part with two first-round picks, hoping its 12th pick in April's draft, plus a future second-rounder, would be enough to entice Las Vegas. Dallas was also willing to package a veteran player to sweeten the deal, but Vegas wasn't interested in that. The Raiders prioritized picks."
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Even though the Cowboys acquired valuable assets when they dealt Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, they gave a chunk of that back up when they got Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets.
That left Dallas a bit short in its pursuit of Crosby.
"After dealing first- and second-round picks for Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, Dallas set hard limits for how far it would go for Crosby, despite the pain associated with losing him," Fowler writes. "'We loved him,' said a Dallas source of the Crosby pursuit. This was a player the Cowboys eyed for a long time."
The Ravens didn't set the same limit. They traded two first-round picks to get Crosby and try to put together a bounceback season in 2026.
Dallas still needs pass rush, and free agency comes soon. Fowler references Trey Hendrickson, Jaelen Phillips, Odafe Oweh and Boye Mafe as options.
It just won't be Crosby in Dallas.
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