After missing out on Maxx Crosby, the Dallas Cowboys are shifting their focus for a pass-rusher as the NFL’s free-agent period is set to begin on Monday.
Appearing on the Sunday morning edition of SportsCenter, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained that the Cowboys are expected to have at least some level of interest in players like Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips and Boye Mafe after being “devastated” that they couldn’t strike a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for Crosby:
“They have to pivot. They were devastated they did not land Maxx Crosby. They just had limits as far as how they would go with the draft picks. But if they want to stick with a trade theme, Minnesota’s Jonathan Greenard could make some sense for a day-two pick; a high day-two pick is what Minnesota is looking for. He also needs a new contract. He has two years left on his current deal at around $38 million in total, so he would want to re-up. Teams are grappling with whether that’s worth it or not, but certainly there are several that have checked in on that. I believe Dallas is one of them, but they’re also going to have some options in free agency. Odafe Oweh from the Los Angeles Chargers, Boye Mafe is a sneaky option there in sort of that next tier. Jaelan Phillips, the Eagles are trying to keep Phillips on a new deal, but if he gets free, Dallas could knock on the doors there. Trey Hendrickson is the big name. He’s 31 years old but he’s a premier pass rusher. He’s going to have a huge market so it depends on how much Dallas is willing to spend. I don’t know if they want to go that high for Hendrickson just yet.”
The Raiders agreed to send Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for first-round draft picks in 2026 and ’27.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cowboys set a limit of a first- and second-round draft pick as their max offer to Las Vegas for Crosby.
One thing to keep an eye with Jerry Jones is his apparent willingness to break his recent free-agent spending patterns. The Cowboys owner told reporters at the NFL scouting combine that he “would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have” been.
Granted, it wouldn’t take much for the Cowboys to surpass their presence in free agency. No team has spent less on free agents over the past five years than Dallas. The total value of its contracts during that period amounts to $54.8 million.
Hendrickson and Phillips are both expected to get significantly more than that when they sign with a team. ESPN’s Dan Graziano has Phillips projected to get a four-year, $92 million deal, with Hendrickson close behind at $84 million over three years.
The Cowboys haven’t signed an external free agent to a deal worth at least $20 million in total value since Henry Melton in March 2014.
Based on that trend, a trade candidate like Jonathan Greenard could be more appealing to the Cowboys. He is under contract through the 2027 season and recorded at least 12 sacks in back-to-back years in 2023 and ’24. Injuries limited him to just 12 games last season, but his 10 tackles for loss would have ranked second among all Dallas defenders.
Greenard isn’t the same type of impact pass-rusher as Crosby or even someone like Hendrickson or Phillips, but the cost to get him likely wouldn’t be that high in part because the Vikings need to clean up their salary cap.
Minnesota is still $1.5 million over the cap going into the legal tampering period on Monday.
The Cowboys, with three first-round draft picks over the next two years, do have some avenues to make a big move. But they are also limited in ways by not having a second- or third-round pick this year stemming from the trades for Quinnen Williams and George Pickens.
It might be easier for the Cowboys to just sign one of the free agents to boost a defense that allowed the most points in the NFL last season, but we have seen in the past they aren’t always eager to go that route to improve the roster.
This content was brought to you by: Bleacher Report – Front Page
