Linebacker Nakobe Dean had interest from the Dallas Cowboys and won't go back on the market, according to new reporting.
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Linebacker Nakobe Dean had interest from the Dallas Cowboys and won't go back on the market, according to new reporting.
For the Dallas Cowboys there was a hope, at least, that one of the ripple effects stemming from the monumental decision by the Baltimore Ravens to back out of the trade for star Maxx Crosby–a sweepstakes in which the Cowboys appeared to finish in second lace–was that the Raiders would have to welcome Crosby back to Las Vegas and, in doing so, would perhaps have to jettison some of their many newly acquired free agents.
Two players especially were important for the Cowboys. One is linebacker Nakobe Dean, who was almost considered a foregone conclusion to sign with the Cowboys because of his Eagles connection with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. But another player with Parker connections, ex-Packers linebacker Quay Walker, was also prominent on the Cowboys’ radar. Dallas had Zoom meetings and made offers to both, before both Walker and Dean signed on to play for the Raiders.
But the Crosby saga seemed to open up the possibility of the Raiders cutting off at least one of the Dean or Walker contracts–which would be legal because no deals are official until 4 p.m. on Wednesday–and giving the Cowboys a second chance.
Cowboys Won’t Get 2nd Shot at Linebackers
Alas, the current reporting suggests that, somehow, the Raiders are going to honor all of the nearly $300 million in contracts that the team handed out in the first two days of free agency, meaning the Cowboys remain linebacker-free.
As Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote on Wednesday morning on Twitter/X: “Source: The Raiders will honor all the agreements they made with free agents—both their own and the incoming guys—over the last 48 hours, despite the stunning developments of last night. All options remain in play with Maxx Crosby. Vegas is certainly very open to keeping him.”
Breer also noted that if there is a notion that Crosby will be given away just to get him off the Raiders’ books, that’s not happening, either. The Cowboys won’t be able to circle back on Crosby and make a new deal at a discount price–if the Raiders trade Crosby, Breer wrote, they will do so later in his rehab when there will be less doubt about the surgically repaired knee that was the cause of him failing his Ravens physical.
Team Doctor Looked at Maxx Crosby Knee
As also noted here, the Cowboys were privy to the medicals on Crosby through the team’s surgeon, Dr. Dan Cooper. ESPN insider Adam Schefter revealed that Dr, Cooper was one of the doctors who informed the Ravens’ Crosby decision, though it’s not clear whether Cooper would have failed Crosby.
On late Tuesday/early Wednesday, Schefter said, “The Baltimore Ravens ultimately failed him on their physical. And my understanding is that there were multiple doctors that reviewed his MRI scans, there were doctors that examined him—including Dr. Daniel Cooper, the Dallas Cowboys doctor, who has performed surgery on Patrick Mahomes and Malik Davis.
“Many teams and players rely on Dr. Cooper’s expertise. And Dr. Cooper was one of the doctors that reviewed the images where the Ravens then felt compelled to back out of this trade.”