Cowboys' 'Hard Limits' on Maxx Crosby Reportedly Revealed After Ravens Trade with Raiders

The Dallas Cowboys were involved in the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes before the Las Vegas Raiders traded him to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, but the NFC East team reportedly set "hard limits" in the negotiations.

After ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday that Dallas was "willing to offer a first- and second-round pick to the Raiders," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Sunday that the Cowboys "kept a hard line throughout" and didn't increase their offer following Baltimore's.

"The franchise wasn't willing to part with two first-round picks, hoping its 12th pick in April's draft, plus a future second-rounder, would be enough to entice Las Vegas," Fowler reported. "Dallas was also willing to package a veteran player to sweeten the deal, but Vegas wasn't interested in that. The Raiders prioritized picks."

Considering Dallas just gave up first- and second-round picks for Quinnen Williams last season, there were those "hard limits" in place even though a Cowboys source told Fowler, "we loved him," when speaking about Crosby.

They loved him for a reason.

The five-time Pro Bowler is one of the best pass-rushers in the league and has double-digit sacks in three of the last four seasons.

One of those seasons came last year when he tallied 73 tackles, 10 sacks, six passes defended, two forced fumbles and an interception as a bright spot for a 3-14 Raiders team. Despite the excellent individual play, he released a video after the trade explaining he felt he let the fanbase down because the team never accomplished all its goals during his tenure:

He will be in a better position to pursue the Lombardi Trophy missing from his resume with the Ravens considering their star-stacked roster includes Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton, among others.

As for the Cowboys, trading two firsts for Crosby, who will be 29 years old next season, after moving on from the 26-year-old Micah Parsons and trading him for two first-rounders and Kenny Clark last offseason would have been quite the juxtaposition.

Still, the defense never recovered from Parsons' absence and ended up last in the league in points allowed during the 2025 campaign.

Adding Crosby could have been a quick fix, but the team was not willing to give up that much draft capital.