The Dallas Cowboys made an expected, but still major, move on Tuesday when they agreed to give defensive lineman Quinnen Williams a three-year, $106 million contract. And in the NFL, with its unique book-keeping rules, that kind of contract means you can also move a chunk of money into a signing bonus and, thus, carve out some additional cap space in the short term.
We do not quite yet know what the structure of the contract will be, but Cowboys writer Patrik Walker of the DallasCowboys.com site, notes that cap space created will be significant.
As he wrote n Twitter/X: “Depending on the contract structure, the #Cowboys decision to extend Quinnen Williams could free up as much as the following over the next two seasons, cap-wise: 2026: $15.5M; 2027: $19.2M. (It)’s roughly $35 million back in Dallas’ salary cap pocket.”
Cowboys Chased Maxx Crosby Once Already
And put into the context of the significant chatter from the Cowboys about their desire to pick up another major defensive piece while they’re out at training camp in Oxnard, the creation of cap space naturally leads to the biggest fish on the league’s potential NFL trade market.
That would be Maxx Crosby, the pass-rusher who was nearly a Cowboys trade addition back in the late winter when Dallas offered a package built around a first-round and a second-round pick (among other packages) to the Raiders for Crosby. The Ravens offered two first-round picks, traded for Crosby, but, of course, sent him back to Las Vegas after he failed their physical because of his recent knee surgery.
Cowboys Need more Pass-Rush Help
The Cowboys would very much like to bring in another pass-rusher, and team owner Jerry Jones has not been shy this summer about saying the team is on the hunt for a defensive star. Jones went so far as to answer a question about Crosby by saying Dallas never pulled out of the Crosby chase.
Indeed, the Crosby trade option was raised on the “GBAG Nation” show on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, writing, “Is there a scenario where the Cowboys could end up with Crosby AND a couple veteran defenders? Question: if you can only have one: are you making a trade for Maxx or signing a couple big name veterans?”
The Cowboys Roundtable site projected a possible Maxx Crosby II pursuit: “Should the Joneses utilize the new available cap room to revisit — and eventually execute — a trade for Crosby, the Cowboys would enter the 2026 season with the seventh-highest-graded pass rusher and second-highest-graded defensive tackle. … After locking up Williams and creating additional financial flexibility in the process, the Cowboys are better positioned to make another splash if the opportunity presents itself.”
Florio: Maxx Crosby to Dallas ‘Would Not Surprise Me’
And, as always, there is Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who probably won’t let a Maxx Crosby-t0-the-Cowboys possibility pass until it either happens or the November 11 trade deadline passes.
Said Florio during the “Yahoo Sports Daily” podcast on Tuesday: “If they are not playing well and they understand Maxx Crosby is not going to be part of the long-term solution, and they can get value for him … but if they can get a first-round pick for him and move on from him and get that fresh start, for him and for them, I feel like that is something we should be watching.
“I could see a team like the Cowboys, they’ve already talked about giving up future assets to improve that defense, and there was talk that they were thinking about making a play for Maxx Crosby—they did in March when the Ravens did. It would not surprise me, if the Cowboys contend, the Raiders don’t, Crosby gets traded to the Cowboys.”
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