The Las Vegas Raiders’ owner, Mark Davis, just played Jerry Jones’ favorite game and beat him at it. After Jones bragged about using media in trade talks, Davis decided to return the favor. Only this time, he used it to shut one down.  

The Raiders got calls about Maxx Crosby. None from the Dallas Cowboys, but others tried. And Davis has a loud, unwavering answer.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve got to say it,” Davis told NFL.com. “It’s really hard to keep getting asked the same question every month or week or whatever when the answer’s going to stay the same. I don’t know why anybody would think I’d change my mind or the organization would.”

After a tense week, the team brass sat with Crosby face-to-face. Sources say there was zero talk of travel plans, just a lot of reassurance. Still, it’s become a recurring ritual: same question, same answer, new batch of rumors. Because Mark Davis isn’t letting him walk away.

The Raiders locked up Crosby with a three-year, $106.5 million extension that runs all the way through 2029. Davis summed it up. “Everybody wants to have your great players. It starts there, it doesn’t start with us.” Translation: If you’re waiting for Vegas to make the first move here, you’ll be waiting a while.

He even praised Crosby, calling him “awesome.” But Jones practically invented the trade with a handshake tactic.

How Jerry Jones set the stage

Jones, on 105.3 The Fan just a day ago, teased his intentions. “I do think this team has a chance to be in contention…that’s all the reason in the world to have your alert side up-in that case, I do have my eyes open and interest level up,” Jerry said.

It’s classic Jones: never direct, always fishing. Then came the real kicker. “I use you to call,” Jones added. “I use media to express interest all the time. It’s not uncommon, and it’s very effective.”

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Cowboys fans didn’t need more fuel for the fire. Instantly, the Maxx Crosby headlines erupted. This isn’t Jones’s first act. He name-dropped Deion Sanders decades ago and watched Prime Time land in Dallas.

Now, Jones appears to be running the same play again, just with Crosby starring in the trade rumor reel. But Davis just ran that pattern backwards, making it on his own terms. For now, there isn’t going to be a repeat of the Sanders saga this year.