The Dallas Cowboys have gotten to work changing the defense thus far in free agency, and you get the sense that the right people are now heading these decisions. With Brian Schottenheimer approaching his second year as the head coach, and Christian Parker installed as the new defensive coordinator, the momentum is on the Cowboys' side.
And to be fair to this team, as long as the defense is even average in 2026, this team is going to win at least 10 games and earn a Wild Card spot. With how good the offense is, it's not going to take a heavy lift from the other side of the ball to get this team on the right track.
But there is always a chance that the Cowboys could still have something major up their sleeves right now. On Tuesday, two Cowboys trades hit the NFL radiowaves. Could these trades have just opened a Maxx Crosby-sized door?
Did the Dallas Cowboys just open up a door to trade for Maxx Crosby?
The first trade was a major one, as the Cowboys agreed to send stud defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers. The talented defensive tackle has missed just one game in his career and has racked up 46 quarterback hits in the past two seasons. Some did wonder about the fit with the team going forward, and this gives us an answer.
The Cowboys got a 2026 third-round pick back in the deal, but that isn't all! Shortly after that, news broke that the team would be sending Solomon Thomas to the Tennessee Titans. All of a sudden, two defensive tackles are out of the building, so does this mean the team is up to something even bigger?
As of now, the Cowboys' defensive line would likely feature Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Otito Ogbonnia, Rashan Gary, and Donovan Ezeiruaku. With Odighizuwa and Thomas now on new teams, could Dallas be laying some groundwork for a Maxx Crosby trade?
The Cowboys did seem to have some level of interest in the player, and now that he's not headed to the Baltimore Ravens, there is a non-zero chance that Dallas calls up the Las Vegas Raiders to see if a deal can be worked out.
The trade with the Ravens fell though due to the team not feeling comfortable proceeding with Crosby's knee injury recovery, but Crosby didn't 'fail' a physical - the Ravens medical team opted clearly did not want to proceed further, but some have even wondered if the front office in Baltimore got cold feet and used the knee issue as the excuse to back out of the deal.
Whatever theory you believe in, what is objectively true right now is that Crosby is back on the Raiders and could still be traded for, and with the Cowboys having just made two notable moves along the defensive line, the Crosby-sized door still appears to be ajar.