Two of the biggest offseason storylines revolve around the futures of edge rusher Maxx Crosby and wide receiver George Pickens in the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, respectively. There are no signs of the saga coming to an end anytime soon. While two franchises grapple with uncertain futures for their star players, one ESPN analyst has proposed a single, high-stakes trade that could either be a masterstroke for both or a spectacular failure.

ESPN reporter Dan Graziano puts forward a scenario in which the Raiders receive George Pickens and a 2026 1st-round pick (20th), with the Cowboys receiving Maxx Crosby and a 2026 second-round pick (36th).

That’s pretty far-fetched, but nothing can be ruled out in this league. Add in the fact that it would solve the core issues for both teams, with the Dallas Cowboys in dire need of an edge rusher, and the Raiders looking for some explosiveness on the other side of the ball.

Additionally, the Cowboys recently parted ways with linebacker Logan Wilson, who was acquired at the trade deadline. Complexities arising from Dak Prescott‘s contract have called for some difficult decisions, and this was one of them. By releasing Wilson, the team has cleared $6.5 million in cap space.

So, an edge rusher like Maxx Crosby would be a dream come true for many Dallas fans, but it wouldn’t be easy, no matter how much they maneuver to save cap space. Earlier, it was reported that the Raiders, if they were to trade Crosby, who already expressed his wish to be out, would look for a package similar to what Dallas received for Micah Parsons: That’s two first-round picks.

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It’s improbable Dallas will be able to offer that, and with Jerry Jones unlikely to offer Pickens a long-term deal, they might add Pickens to the mix. It’s entirely contingent upon the front office, which has to decide between putting a franchise tag on Pickens, offering him a long-term deal, or releasing him.

If they decide to go for the latter, they will certainly make a splash, either for another wide receiver or an edge rusher like Crosby. It’s pretty much a guessing game right now, but Graziano has confirmed one thing about Pickens’ future.

Pickens will not receive a top-of-market deal

Pickens being tagged and not being offered a long-term deal is something the insiders have been hinting at all season long, and Graziano echoed the same reality.

“Why this deal makes sense: The Cowboys likely aren’t going to fork over a long-term, top-of-market deal for Pickens, and franchise-tagging him could cause more problems than it solves (as it did last year with edge rusher Micah Parsons),” he wrote.

“They get back Crosby, who will make around $30 million per year for the next two years and would replace Parsons. Then, Dallas could look elsewhere for its No. 2 wide receiver.”

With 1,429 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns this season, Pickens certainly did enough to warrant a longer deal, but it wasn’t enough to make Jerry Jones budge, apparently. Multiple entities in the Cowboys, including Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Jerry himself, have confirmed their desire to see Pickens in Dallas beyond 2026, but that only looks possible with a franchise tag.

CeeDee Lamb is already making $34 million in Dallas, and that’s why it’s hard to see the Cowboys paying top-3 WR money to George Pickens, who is predicted to earn a 5-year contract worth $153.7 million, which comes out to around $30.8 million per year. The peculiar part is that the owner has confirmed Dallas has the resources to strike a deal.

“Absolutely,” Jerry Jones said when asked about being able to pay Pickens’ market value. “A lot of the reasons I did some of the things that I did last year were to retain some players that, if it had gone in different directions, I couldn’t have done it.”

The countdown started on Tuesday, and the Cowboys have until March 3 to tag him, after which Jerry Jones will have until July 15 to offer him an extension. If the WR is unwilling to play under the tag, a trade looks like the reasonable way out, maybe one that involves Maxx Crosby.