It’s always a good day when the Dallas Cowboys are struggling, and even better when the New York Giants have something to do with it.
The Cowboys are clearly looking for pass-rushing help ahead of the 2026 season, and they’re not being subtle about it. They were deep in trade talks for Maxx Crosby before ultimately backing off when the Baltimore Ravens beat them on the return. Dallas didn’t want to part with two first-rounders to get a deal done. They also missed out on the Trey Hendrickson sweepstakes, also to the Ravens, missing out on another potential game-changer.
They ended up settling for Rashan Gary instead, picking him up from Green Bay for a 2027 fourth-round pick on the morning the legal tampering window opened. But before pivoting to Gary, they checked in with the Giants about Kayvon Thibodeaux at the NFL Combine, and Joe Schoen and Co. all but told them to kick rocks.
According to Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris on the Cross Chop podcast, Dallas checked in on Thibs at the Combine, but talks never made it off the ground due to Big Blue's asking price (44:00 mark):
"They [the Cowboys] checked in on that around the Combine. That compensation was looking like either a first-round pick or either a two and a three. It's just not attainable."
Giants weren’t about to help the Cowboys fix their pass rush problem, especially for pennies on the dollar
Dallas can spin it however they want, but this is what desperation looks like. They know they need a real pass-rusher, and the options are drying up fast. With all these swings and misses, it's looking like a Wave 3 free agent is going to have to try to save the day, which is hilarious.
The Crosby swing didn’t land, the Thibodeaux call went nowhere, and now they’re stuck trying to convince themselves that Gary is enough to move the needle. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but it doesn’t exactly scream problem solved.
And from the Giants’ side, this was never really a conversation to begin with. Thibodeaux is 25, coming off an injury-filled season that ended on IR, but they’re not viewing him like a throwaway piece, especially when it comes to Dallas. He’s still a former top-five pick who's shown flashes of being a stud. You don’t move off a player like that just because a division rival comes calling, especially not for anything less than an absolute haul. There’s a reason the asking price is high, and there’s a reason Dallas didn’t even come close to matching it.
There will be no Jerry Jones wins here. He's been a textbook over-payer in trades in the past -- a fourth-rounder for Jonathan Mingo, anyone -- so why stop the good times now? So either pony up or lasso you another pass-rusher, Jerruh.
The good news is the Cowboys are still trying to patch together a lackluster pass-rush group, while Big Blue's unit gets to roll into 2026 with a shot at redemption for last year's underwhelming result. If only the Cowboys didn't trade Micah Parsons last year.