What does it take to move one of the NFL’s most dominant edge rushers? As it turns out, a blueprint already exists, and it comes from Jerry Jones’s playbook.

When the Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers last season, the football world took notice. Two first-round picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark were the price to pry away a generational pass rusher. Now, the Las Vegas Raiders are using that exact deal as their yardstick for Maxx Crosby.

“The Raiders are looking for two first-round picks and a player for the 28-year-old edge rusher,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes. “That’s what the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons in August, with the player being defensive lineman Kenny Clark.”

The Parsons trade didn’t just move a star. It seems to have set the market. But the stakes here run deeper than just a trade. Crosby’s situation in Las Vegas has quietly turned into one of the most layered storylines of this offseason. After the Raiders shut him down with two games left in 2025 (a decision he openly resisted), Crosby left the building.

To make matters worse, during Super Bowl LX week, reports surfaced that he’d told minority owner Tom Brady that he would retire before ever suiting up for Las Vegas again.

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Still, the Raiders aren’t panicking. General manager John Spytek has walked a careful line, publicly backing Maxx Crosby and noting that he wants Crosby to stay with the Raiders.

“I am,” Spytek said when asked if he was sure Crosby would stick around. “Maxx is an elite player, and I’ve been very upfront from the start, when I got here, that we’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them. It’s hard to build a great team without elite players.”

But Spytek also refused to label Crosby as untradable, saying that they’re “always listening” for trade offers. Now, trading Crosby would cost the Raiders a $5.1 million dead-cap hit but free up $30.69 million in savings. Add the incoming draft capital, and the math becomes hard to ignore.

The price is set. The question now is whether any team is bold enough (and hungry enough) to actually write that check. And the Cowboys, more than any other name, keep circling back to the conversation.

Why Dallas keeps coming back

For Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, Maxx Crosby isn’t just a target; he’s a statement. Dallas dealt Parsons last season, lost their defensive identity overnight, and has spent this entire offseason trying to answer one uncomfortable question: Who anchors this defense now?

Crosby, a 5x Pro Bowler who has never recorded fewer than 7 sacks in a full season, is about as clean an answer as you’ll find on the open market. Even Jerry Jones had heaped praise on Crosby during the 2025 season, recognizing the threat he poses to offenses.

“That Crosby is a mess,” Jones had said in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan. “You wanna see a defensive end that can flat rush the passer, but at the same time play that run, you don’t wanna go on his side of the field. So, there’s your outside guy that makes a difference.”

The cultural fit only amplifies the appeal. Crosby himself has spoken at length about the respect he holds for Jerry Jones and his Cowboys. Even Hall of Famer Michael Irvin also captured the upside Crosby can bring recently. In doing so, he also noted the importance of keeping wide receiver George Pickens locked in.

“Let me say it this way, if you got Maxx Crosby and could keep George Pickens in that offense intact, I would almost be saying, ‘Wow, this is going to be one of them 15-2, 16-1,” Irvin said. “That would be a team that could possibly get close to the record for best regular season the Dallas Cowboys ever had. And absolutely, I believe, will be able to look at running this thing all the way to a Super Bowl if you get them both.”

That’s the kind of belief that moves front offices to action. The Raiders have posted their price, and the Cowboys have the motive. Now someone just has to blink first.