Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby remains one of the most talked-about trade names in the NFL, and Bryan Broaddus of 105.3 The FAN has delivered a pointed message to the Dallas Cowboys: acquiring Crosby would transform their defense into an all-time unit. The catch is that the price has already shifted, and Crosby himself has made clear he doesn’t want to go anywhere.
What The Broaddus Endorsement Actually Means For Dallas
Broaddus compared a Crosby-led Cowboys defense to the greatest units in NFL history in a July 28 video, placing him alongside the Steel Curtain and Fearsome Foursome in the same breath. That is not casual hyperbole. That is a credentialed local analyst telling Dallas fans that one trade could redefine their entire defensive identity.
Crosby generated 53 total pressures, 10 sacks, 31 hurries, 12 QB hits, and a forced fumble across 935 defensive snaps last season. His 79.7 overall PFF defensive grade ranked among the elite at the position. He also recorded 46 solo tackles against the run, making him a complete edge defender rather than a pure pass rush specialist.
The Failed Ravens Deal Reset The Trade Price
Crosby was actually traded to the Baltimore Ravens back in March before a failed physical caused that deal to collapse. Crosby had undergone meniscus surgery in January, and the Ravens’ concern centered less on his readiness for 2026 than on the long-term durability of the knee, with a source describing it to ESPN as a degenerative issue. That sequence now shapes every conversation about what Crosby is actually worth on the open market.
Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram addressed the price reset directly in a July 28 video from Haymaker Network, arguing that two first-round picks no longer reflects realistic market value given what teams now know. Harris framed a first-round pick plus a third-rounder as the proper starting point for negotiations, not the ceiling: “If someone was willing to trade two first-round picks for Maxx Crosby, it would have happened already. And now that everyone has the context of the injury and what happened there, yesterday’s price is not today’s price.”
Why A Deal May Not Actually Happen
There are two complications that temper how likely any of this really is. Crosby has been publicly clear that he does not want to leave Las Vegas. He described the entire Ravens saga as one of the wildest experiences of his career on his own podcast, and posted his commitment to the Raiders the day after that trade fell through. A player who wants to stay is a very different negotiating environment than a disgruntled one.
Dallas, for its part, made three separate offers for Crosby back in March, topping out near a first-round pick and a second-rounder, and came away empty when Baltimore outbid them with two firsts. Since then, the Cowboys addressed their pass rush need directly by trading for Green Bay’s Rashan Gary, and multiple reports since have suggested Dallas has cooled on making another run at Crosby rather than staying aggressively engaged.
Jerry Jones And The Knee Question
Harris also noted that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appears confident about Crosby’s knee, based on public statements Jones has made. Notably, Dallas’ own team doctor, Dan Cooper, was one of the outside specialists the Ravens brought in to evaluate Crosby during that physical, though Cooper wasn’t reportedly the deciding voice in Baltimore’s decision to back out.
Harris added a sharp observation: if Jones genuinely believes the knee is sound, he may not say so publicly because doing so would weaken any future negotiating position with the Raiders. Whether that translates into renewed action is a separate question, given Dallas already has Gary in the fold and Crosby has said he wants to stay put.
The NFC East context sharpens the case in theory. Philadelphia and Washington are building legitimate contenders, and a defense anchored by Crosby would give Dallas a credible answer to that arms race. The contract context around elite pass rushers like Nick Bosa shows how much teams are willing to commit to that kind of edge disruption, even if Crosby’s actual path to Dallas looks murkier than the price-based argument alone suggests.
What Happens Next On The Crosby Trade Front
The trade deadline sits roughly two months out, and Crosby’s early-season performance and knee health will drive any renewed market for him. A clean bill of health combined with dominant production could reignite contender interest regardless of his own preference. But with Crosby publicly committed to Las Vegas and Dallas already having moved on to Rashan Gary, the price argument from Harris and Broaddus may end up being more theoretical than actionable this year. The broader edge rusher market remains unsettled, which gives both sides reason to keep watching even if neither is actively pushing for a deal right now.
