Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio raised the same trade on Aug. 11, with the condition that the Raiders struggle. Brian Urlacher said on Aug. 26 that Jerry Jones would find a way to get Crosby if Dallas wanted him badly enough, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put the trade in a set of seven bold predictions published Friday.
Danny Parkins On Why The Dallas Cowboys Would Trade For Maxx Crosby
Parkins built the prediction around George Pickens, who is playing 2026 on a $27.3 million franchise tag. The July 15 deadline for a multiyear deal passed without one, and the Cowboys cannot extend him until after the regular-season finale against Washington in January.
“If they think they’re losing (George) Pickens next year, then that means that this team is the most talented team they should have for a few years,” Parkins said. “And that’s the exact situation, especially when you add in veteran quarterback, owner in his early 80s, 30-plus year Super Bowl drought. That’s the exact situation to mortgage a little bit of the future. Like, trade a draft pick to go get a player. So I think Maxx Crosby’s going to be a Cowboy.”
The timeline Parkins gave was the first month of the season, and the thing being tested is Crosby’s left knee, the one that ended a trade to Baltimore in March. Crosby is 29 and signed through 2029, and the Las Vegas Raiders took quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall in April.
“I think September will be an audition for the rest of the league to show that Crosby is healthy,” Parkins explained. “There’s no reason for him to stay on the Raiders. He doesn’t align with (Fernando) Mendoza’s timeline. They already tried to trade him, and the Ravens backed out of it. If Crosby has a good September, he won’t be a Raider in October, and I think Dallas will be at the front of the line.”
Parkins also compared the Dallas restructures to the ones the Chicago Bears made to get under the cap, according to Cowboys On SI’s Randy Gurzi. Dallas was already under the cap when it reworked the three deals.
The Dallas Cowboys Restructures That Started This
ESPN’s Todd Archer reported Thursday night that the Cowboys converted Kenny Clark‘s $8.8 million base salary, DaRon Bland‘s $12 million base salary, and Jake Ferguson‘s $7.25 million base salary into signing bonuses. Clark’s 2027 cap number goes up $1.5 million. Bland’s cap number goes up $2.15 million in each remaining year of his deal, and Ferguson’s goes up $1.2 million.
According to the NFL Players Association, Dallas had roughly $14.2 million in cap space before reworking the three contracts. The team can use the room during the 2026 season or carry it over into 2027.
DLLS Sports’ Clarence Hill reported that the team intends to roll the space into next year. ESPN’s Jenny Slater reported the same day that the restructures were not a prelude to an immediate trade.
What Maxx Crosby Would Cost Dallas
Crosby’s 2026 base salary is $30 million, and all of it is fully guaranteed, according to Over The Cap. His $29 million base salary for 2027 is fully guaranteed as of March 13. A team acquiring him during the season takes on the remaining portion of the $30 million.
The money comes from the three-year, $106.5 million extension he signed in March 2025. That deal runs through 2029 and carries $26.5 million in 2028 and $27.43 million in 2029, neither of which is guaranteed.
Crosby played 15 games last season and finished with 10.0 sacks, 73 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and one interception. Through seven seasons, he has 69.5 sacks in 110 games and five straight Pro Bowl selections. He had surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Dallas Has Already Made Two Runs At Maxx Crosby
Ahead of last November’s deadline, the Cowboys called Las Vegas about Crosby and Cincinnati about Trey Hendrickson inside the same stretch of days. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported that both teams turned Dallas down. Hours before the Nov. 4 deadline, the Cowboys sent a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith to the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams.
In March, Dallas offered a first-round pick and a second-round pick. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Raiders took Baltimore’s offer of the No. 14 pick and a 2027 first-round pick instead. The two sides agreed on March 6, and Crosby took his physical in Baltimore four days later. The Ravens backed out that night. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the reason was medical, and ESPN later reported that Baltimore’s evaluation turned up a degenerative issue in the left knee.
Three days after the Baltimore agreement, Dallas acquired Rashan Gary from Green Bay for a 2027 fourth-round pick. The only edge rusher added since is Von Miller, on a one-year contract worth $5.5 million with a maximum value of $7.5 million.
Jones, the Cowboys’ owner and general manager, has rejected the idea that Dallas left the table in March. Both of the Cowboys’ own first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 are still on the books.
“We did not walk away,” Jones said in July, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “That’s about all there is to say.”
Las Vegas Has Said Maxx Crosby Is Staying
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak had coffee with Crosby the morning of his introductory news conference on Feb. 10, while Crosby was rehabbing from the January surgery. Raiders owner Mark Davis spoke after Kubiak did, per ESPN’s Ryan McFadden.
“Maxx has been a great, great Raider,” Davis said. “He is a great Raider. He’s gone through a lifetime of development here for seven or eight years, and he still is a Raider. So, it’s all good.”
Kubiak called Crosby one of the best players in the NFL that day and said he wants him to be part of the Raiders’ success going forward. Las Vegas finished 3-14 last season, the worst record in the league.
The Raiders open Sunday, Sept. 13, at Allegiant Stadium against the Miami Dolphins, with kickoff at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. They play at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 20 and at the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 27. The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10.
Dallas opens the same day at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants, with kickoff at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
