DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys swung for the fences and missed. Badly. Just days before the 2026 NFL legal tampering period opens on Monday, March 9, Jerry Jones watched top trade target Maxx Crosby slip right through his fingers. Instead of wearing the star, Crosby is heading to the Baltimore Ravens. You could practically hear the collective groan echo out of The Star in Frisco when the news broke.
The Ravens outbid Dallas, sending two first-round picks (including the No. 14 overall pick in 2026) to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Cowboys reportedly offered a first and a second-round pick. Now, Dallas is completely devastated and staring down a massive hole on the edge. With the front office desperately seeking a Micah Parsons successor, the franchise needs a premier pass rusher immediately.
Plan B: The Free Agent Market
Missing out on Crosby stings, but the front office cannot afford to panic. The free-agent edge rusher market is loaded, and Dallas is shifting its focus fast. According to ESPN, the Cowboys are eyeing several high-profile names to anchor their defense:
- Trey Hendrickson (Cincinnati Bengals): The 31-year-old veteran is the top target. Hendrickson racked up an absurd 35 sacks between 2023 and 2024. A core injury limited him to just four sacks in 2025, but when healthy, he is a quarterback’s nightmare. Dallas tried to trade for him at the deadline last season, but Cincinnati shut the door.
- Jaelan Phillips (Philadelphia Eagles): Phillips split time between the Dolphins and Eagles last season. While he only tallied five sacks, he registered 73 total pressures, ranking ninth among all edge rushers in the league.
- Boye Mafe (Seattle Seahawks): Fresh off a 29-13 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl LX, Mafe brings championship pedigree and a relentless motor to the table.
- Odafe Oweh (Los Angeles Chargers): Oweh logged 7.5 sacks in 12 games last year and ranks as the No. 7 overall free agent on FOX Sports.
“You want a guy who forces the offense to completely change their blocking scheme. We thought we had our guy, but this league doesn’t wait for anybody. We have to reload and go get a monster on Monday.”
— Anonymous Cowboys Front Office Executive
Cap Gymnastics and What Comes Next
Here is the brutal reality: Dallas currently holds roughly $200,000 in cap space against the newly established $301.2 million salary cap for 2026. That is barely enough to pay the practice squad, let alone secure a top-tier pass rusher like Hendrickson or Phillips.
To make any of these moves a reality, the Cowboys will need to restructure massive contracts and clear significant cap room before the new league year officially begins on Wednesday, March 11. They struck out on the trade market. Now, Jerry Jones has roughly 48 hours to find the cash and land an elite edge rusher, or the 2026 defense will be playing catch-up from day one.
