The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly looking to add defensive help before this season’s NFL trade deadline.
During a dump of buzz-worthy notes, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler specifically said that the Cowboys are on the hunt for an “impact” defensive player. A reminder that the trade deadline is November 4th.
My understanding of the situation is the Cowboys are on the hunt for an impact defensive player and have reached out to teams throughout the league — likely all of them — to gauge interest with a number of players,
Crosby presumably being one. So yes, I think there’s interest. My sense is that Dallas would be pretty surprised if the Raiders actually moved on from Crosby, with whom owner Mark Davis has a deep affection. The Cowboys — armed with two first-rounders in 2026 and seven picks in total before compensatory selections — also have looked into Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, whom the Bengals don’t plan to deal. Several other edge rushers will be available leaguewide, so expect the Cowboys to get involved in various talks.
They have shown an eagerness to trade for players on rookie deals, which worked out great with Pickens, who is having a contract year for the ages. Pickens is pulling off quite the upset after the Steelers moved on. Pickens never had stable quarterback play in Pittsburgh, but he does now. The Cowboys have noticed that Pickens and Lamb have good chemistry as bookend receivers. And one person with the team compared him to Dez Bryant — incredibly talented and sometimes a distraction, but ultimately manageable. For Pickens, that’s good company. Bryant made three Pro Bowls in eight seasons with Dallas.
Fowler’s notes here began after referencing the Tuesday report that Dallas called the Las Vegas Raiders about Maxx Crosby. This is the first time that anyone has directly connected the Cowboys to Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson, though. It is worth noting that Hendrickson is currently in the final year of his contract which would complicate matters beyond this season, obviously.
But that might not be a bad thing. Hendrickson could be viewed as a rental by the Cowboys and would not cost anywhere near as much as someone like Crosby, although the numbers behind a would-be Crosby deal are still enticing for Dallas and they would have him under team control for several more seasons.
Ultimately it feels fair to say that we are likely going to see the Cowboys do something before the deadline as there is a lot of smoke here. What do you want the most and why?
