So, after weeks of speculation came to nothing with a potential Maxx Crosby trade, it seems the Dallas Cowboys (or more likely, overly hopeful fans) are, Charlie Brown-style, lining up for another kick at the football.
Is there a bigger name than Crosby out there who could fix everything on defense? Yes, there is, namely, future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett, and a rather minor tweak to his contract has fueled speculation that he could be traded. And of course, Dallas is one of five or six teams mentioned.
Will this come to anything? It will come to a lot of conjecture and the Cowboys will be in the middle of it. Here is what the Cowboys are doing.
Myles Garrett
Remember that several-week period where Cowboy fans were dreaming of landing Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson before that fell apart? Well, there is another name out there that could become available, and it’s even bigger.
Cleveland Browns star edge pass rusher Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, is often the source of off-season trade speculation — a year ago, he demanded a trade before reconsidering and signing a four-year, $160 million extension — and the 2026 version of the rumor mill heated up when the Browns tweaked his contract this week.
Per a report from ESPN, option bonuses that were due to him on March 25 (the 15th day of the league year) are now going to be paid seven days before the season starts. That was done by mutual agreement between Garrett and the Browns.
This gives the Browns more cap flexibility, but under the terms of the deal, they won’t owe him anything if he isn’t on the roster seven days before the start of the season.
The move also makes him easier to trade. Furthermore, the Browns, perhaps not coincidentally, have proposed a rule change allowing the team to trade draft picks five years out, rather than the current three.
That has stoked speculation that Garrett, who had an NFL-record 23 sacks last season, could be traded. That speculation is all over the place, and of course, the Cowboys are involved.
A CBS Sports article lists five landing spots for Garrett if he is moved: San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, New England and Buffalo.
Of Dallas, John Breech writes: “The Cowboys were firmly in the hunt for Maxx Crosby, showing Jerry Jones’ strong interest in adding a star pass rusher. Their reported offer included a 2026 first-round pick (No. 12 overall) and a 2027 second-rounder.
“They’d likely need to increase that for Garrett, but with two first-round picks this year, they have the capital to get a deal done. Garrett would transform the defense and could make Dallas the NFC East favorite. And the most Jerry Jones move imaginable would be trading for Garrett just seven months after dealing Micah Parsons, so don’t rule it out.”
Worth noting, Garrett, who would have to waive a no-trade clause, is from Arlington and went to Texas A&M.
The site Dawgs by Nature lists New England, Buffalo, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia and Dallas as destinations and says of Dallas: “Cowboys owner Jerry Jones loves big moves, and Garrett is from Texas. Dallas also needs to replace Micah Parsons after dealing him away last year, and showed interest in a trade for Maxx Crosby earlier this offseason. Garrett is a better player, overall, than Crosby, and Jones could continue to find himself in the headlines for bringing Garrett ‘home’ to Texas while also improving the team’s biggest area of need.”
Before Dallas fans get too excited, consider the price. DawgPoundDaily came up with a potential trade, and here it is: Dallas gets Garrett; Cleveland gets George Pickens, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick. So there’s one price tag to consider.
While speculation is rampant and Dallas will naturally be part of it, the odds of Garrett being traded this offseason seem lower than last offseason, so a lot needs to happen before that changes.
EJ Smith
How does Emmitt James Smith sound lining up in the Dallas Cowboys backfield?
EJ Smith, the son of Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt, and a graduating senior at Texas A&M, held his pro day on Wednesday, and it later came out that he has a private workout scheduled with the Cowboys.
Smith started his collegiate career at Stanford before transferring to Texas A&M. He had 44 carries for 205 yards and four touchdowns this past season, and for his five-year career, rushed for 969 yards and nine touchdowns.
Before that, he was a star at Dallas Jesuit High School.
If Dallas wants to pick him up as a courtesy to a former star, he might well be an undrafted free agent unless someone picks him up in a late round.
Derion Kendrick
On Wednesday, Dallas signed cornerback Derion Kendrick on the cheap after he spent 2025 between Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams. How much he improves a terrible Cowboys secondary is debatable, and a Rams expert on a fan site seems to be saying Good Riddance.
Bret Stuter of Ramblin’ Fan writes: “Derion Kendrick is the epitome of hot and cold. He was hot in the LA Rams secondary, until a 2024 injury benched him for the season.
“When he returned in 2025, he was ice cold. He was released and signed with the Seattle Seahawks, where he was hot. When their players got healthy, he was released and returned to LA. He was ice cold once more.”
So Dallas fans shouldn’t get too excited about this one.
Dallas Cowboys 2026 schedule, opener
The NFL threw a curveball with its schedule when it announced the traditional Thursday night opening game involving the defending Super Bowl champions is being moved up a day. This has the potential to impact Dallas.
Instead of opening on Thursday, Sept. 10, the Seattle Seahawks will now open on Wednesday, Sept. 10, on NBC at the usual 6:20 p.m. MT/7:20 p.m. CT slot. The league has not announced their Week 1 opponent, but the Cowboys are one of nine possibilities.
This is all because the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are playing a game in Melbourne, Australia that will be Friday morning in Australia but squarely in Thursday night prime time in America.
As for who Seattle will play in that Wednesday opener, there are nine possibilities and Dallas is one of them (the others are the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers, Giants, Chiefs, Chargers, Bears and Patriots).
Worth noting, the only time the NFL opened a season on a Wednesday night was in 2012 when a game between the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys was moved up to avoid a conflict with President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The NFL schedule is set to drop on May 13.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Cowboys trade rumors; what superstar rusher is Dallas linked to now?
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
