The Cowboys tried and failed to sign Maxx Crosby, and while many aren't giving our awards for trying, reading between the lines, maybe something significant is happening.
We know that as the Dallas Cowboys set out on their free agency path, fans and the national media were eagerly awaiting to see how aggressive Jerry Jones would be.
With the Cowboys needing ample defensive help and the weaponry to get top-quality players in, Dallas was a player for Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
But the deal fell apart because Dallas was reportedly unwilling to part with both of its first-round picks. OK, I'm fine with that.
Now, an ESPN report has delved deeper into the failed trade for Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, and we now know that Dallas didn't just send one lowball offer and then leave the table.
The franchise put forth three offers.
The first was Osa Odighizuwa, and the 20th overall pick. Las Vegas said no.
Jerry went back, and then put the 12th overall pick on the table, along with what our own Mike Fisher says would have been a 2027 third-round pick (as Dallas didn't have a second-round pick.
That was knocked back. So Jerry and the Cowboys went again.
The 12th overall pick and a second-round pick, which, like the selection above, would have been a 2027 pick according to Fish. Again, the Raiders said no.
So, fans now know that Jerry really tried to bring in a true star to his team.
And Fish offers up this thought-provoking assessment of the failed Crosby trade.
"Both things can be true here," Fish said. "You can be bothered because bust the budget didn't happen. But at the same time, you could be encouraged because Jerry Jones really did try with real effort to acquire an All-Pro, expensive, difference-making budget buster. And maybe, just maybe, Jerry Jones has the wild-cattin' guts and the fat wallet to try something like that again.”
And it is here where my antenna pricks up.
Many think that because Jerry took a swing and missed, it is the end of trying to land a big fish.
What it shows is that Jerry was, for the first time in recent memory, willing to go, dare I say it, all-in and bust the budget to get a genuine star. That might get overlooked by most because Crosby wasn't signed.
But it is there where we can pull on that thread.
If Jerry was willing to part ways with the 12th overall pick, and more for Crosby, is there a player out there that the Cowboys could go after with a similar haul?
And here we have Fish speculating - no, urging! - the Cowboys to pivot from a pursuit of Maxx Crosby to a pursuit of Myles Garrett, suddenly maybe in play due to a major money move. (Read Fish's take below.)
Yes, many crushed the Cowboys for "trying" to get Maxx, but if you dig a little deeper than just that, it reveals that the Dallas owner, to an extent, followed through on his words. He really tried, but he just didn't get the deal done.
But the fact that he was willing to put most of Dallas' draft capital into the middle of the table for Maxx, that, my friends, is telling.
Is "wild-cattin" Jerry back?
In the Crosby trade, he certainly tried to make a comeback.
As the star turns...