Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Breaks Silence on Maxx Crosby Trade Rumors
The Dallas Cowboys have the worst defense in the league, giving up 401.6 total yards and 29.4 points per game. They’re looking for defensive help ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline, but one name isn’t on their list: Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini that Dallas didn’t reach out to the Raiders to inquire about Crosby, adding the team isn’t targeting a pass rusher.
“I would say, without incriminating any area of it, it would be a defensive player. But not a pass rusher,” Jones said.
Defense Crumbles After Parsons Trade
The Cowboys’ defense has struggled after the franchise traded three-time All-Pro Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers a week before the start of the regular season. Parsons has thrived in Green Bay with 5.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits and 16 tackles, helping lead the Packers to a 4-1-1 record.
Despite Parsons’ success, Jones doesn’t regret the trade.
“When I made the trade, I thought both sides would do well — us with (defensive tackle Kenny) Clark and the picks, and him up there,” Jones said. “We both have good days, and we have our picks.”
Jones added: “The numbers got Micah. Not me. He’s elite, but we were better off with numbers of players. It had nothing to do with contracts or agents. I’d love to have Micah plus everything I got. But I can’t. That’s the cap.”
The Cowboys boast one of the league’s best offenses with Dak Prescott and George Pickens, but without a solid defense, they won’t have a shot at winning their first Super Bowl since 1995. If they’re unable to shore up that side of the ball before the deadline, it will be another disappointing season in Dallas.Jerry Jones Explains Cowboys’ Interest in Maxx Crosby After Ravens Trade Collapse
Jerry Jones watched on as his Dallas Cowboys had yet another disappointing NFL season, ending 2025 with a 7-9-1 record and missing out on the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Now, Jones has turned to free agency and the trade market in hopes of bringing the Cowboys back to the postseason.
One of the first moves Dallas made in the offseason was franchise tagging star wide receiver George Pickens, who was set to become a free agent. But Jones wasn’t done there, trading away a seventh-round pick to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for defensive end Rashan Gary. But Jones and the Cowboys could still be interested in replacing Micah Parsons with another superstar.
(Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)
Maxx Crosby, after a college career with Eastern Michigan, was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders, formerly the Oakland Raiders, with the No. 106 pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. And the defensive end has stayed with the Raiders since, recording 439 tackles and 69.5 sacks while making five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.
But following the 2025 NFL season, Las Vegas elected to trade Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a 2026 and 2027 first-round pick. However, after Crosby failed a physical examination, the Ravens backed out of the trade, sending the superstar pass rusher back to the Raiders.
Jones and the Cowboys had expressed interest in acquiring Crosby ahead of the Ravens deal, offering a first- and second-round pick. And while he does not anticipate Dallas trading for the defensive end in the future, Jones and the Cowboys have decided not to rule it out.
“We’re pretty far down the road relative to what our plans are,” Jones said to the Associated Press. “So while I don’t anticipate it, I don’t want to rule anything out.”
If Jones and the Cowboys were to acquire Crosby, pairing him with Gary and second-year defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku would provide Dallas with a much-improved pass rush.