NFL Executives Monitoring Several Potential Trade Targets For Cowboys

According to Jason La Canfora of Casino.org, rival executives around the league are keeping a close eye on the Cowboys to make a move for an edge rusher, and Raiders DE Maxx Crosby, Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat, and Giants DL Kayvon Thibodeaux as potential targets. 

Dallas owner Jerry Jones recently said during a press conference that they are looking to use future salary cap and draft considerations 

“We think enough of our opportunity that we would use some of the future salary cap, some of the future draft consideration, some of the future, if you will, [for a] trade asset,” Jones said. “We would use some of it to add to this team right now.”

However, one anonymous general manager told La Canfora earlier this summer that Las Vegas is not shopping Crosby after his deal to the Ravens fell through: “They aren’t shopping him, but that doesn’t mean they won’t trade him eventually.”

In the end, La Canfora isn’t convinced that the Cowboys would pay the steep price to acquire Crosby. 

With Sweat, La Canfora views him as an edge rusher who makes more sense for Dallas. He cites an anonymous NFL personnel executive who has done deals with the Cowboys, who also could see it being a move Jones would be interested in. 

“This feels like something Jerry would do,” the executive said. 

As for Thibodeaux, La Canfora writes that he may not be a proven difference maker, but bringing in a talented player wouldn’t be out of character for the Cowboys. 

La Canfora cites executives around the league who don’t think the Giants and Cowboys being division rivals would prevent a deal between the two. 

In recent weeks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that he would be surprised if Crosby was traded before the season. Schefter explains that Crosby has been talking about how happy he is to be in Las Vegas and how recommitted to the team he feels after an offseason trade to the Ravens fell through. He noted that it’s important because Crosby was the one driving the trade momentum due to being upset with the Raiders coming out of last season. 

However, he says not to rule out a Crosby trade completely at some point down the line. 

“But here’s where I think it could change in time. Nobody’s going to say it now. But what if the Raiders are not winning regularly? What if the Raiders are 1-5, 2-6, and we’re coming up to the trade deadline in the first week of November? And there’s a team out there that could use a pass rusher, and Maxx is playing at the level that we think he can, another high level,” Schefter said. “I think that’s when the trade potentially could come back into play, and I think that’s when it might be time to start paying attention.”

Jones teased the possibility of Dallas making a big trade this year in his opening remarks at training camp, and he specifically disputed the characterization that they lost interest in trading for Crosby after his failed physical.  

“We didn’t. We did not walk away,” Jones said, declining to expand more beyond that to avoid tampering violations. “He’s a Raider.”

As for Sweat, Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort downplayed any rumors that Sweat asked for a trade and said they have no interest in moving him.

“There is always a lot of talk around that. We have no interest in trading Josh. Some of those discussions we will keep private. We are excited to have Josh here,” Ossenfort said, via Darren Urban.

Crosby, 28, is a former fourth-round pick of the Raiders back in 2019 out of Eastern Michigan University. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $3,302,264 contract that included a $782,264 signing bonus and was set to make a base salary of $850,000 when he signed a four-year, $98.98 million contract extension with over $53 million guaranteed. 

Crosby was due base salaries of $22.236 million and $18.84 million in the final two years of the deal when he signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension in March 2025.

In 2025, Crosby appeared in 15 games for the Raiders and recorded 73 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, one interception, six pass defenses, and two forced fumbles. 

Sweat, 29, is a former fourth-round pick by the Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Florida State. He finished the final year of his four-year, $3.05 million rookie contract and earned a base salary of $920,000 for the 2021 season. 

Sweat would have been an unrestricted free agent in 2022 before he signed a three-year, $42 million extension. He played out that deal and was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent again in 2025 when he signed a four-year, $76 million contract with the Cardinals. 

In 2025, Sweat appeared in all 17 games for the Cardinals and recorded 30 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, one recovery and two pass deflections.