Overview
- On Thursday the Cowboys converted portions of Kenny Clark, DaRon Bland and Jake Ferguson’s 2026 salaries into signing‑bonus style money to free roughly $19 million for 2026 and raise their total available cap room to about $33 million.
- Those restructures do not lower player pay; they spread current salary into future years and let unused 2026 space carry into 2027, which is standard cap bookkeeping reported by multiple outlets.
- The new flexibility immediately revived national analyst speculation that Dallas could try to acquire Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby, with commentators proposing blockbuster packages that include high first‑round pick compensation and players such as Rashan Gary.
- Cowboys beat reporters and team sources publicly cautioned there is no confirmed Crosby deal and noted major hurdles, including Crosby’s roughly $30 million base pay for 2026, a near $35 million cap charge and a large dead‑cap number that would require further maneuvers or costly trade compensation.
- The situation remains unresolved and worth watching before the trade deadline in the middle of the season because the moves give Dallas optionality but do not guarantee the team will pay the premium the Raiders would likely demand.