Ashton Jeanty’s injury scare did more than briefly worry the Raiders. It also kicked loose an old Maxx Crosby storyline, and this time the Cowboys got pulled back into the conversation.
Jeanty left Sunday’s practice after landing awkwardly while diving for a pass, and the initial scene looked ugly enough to raise alarms. He could not put weight on his right leg and needed help from trainers before teammates gathered and prayed.
The latest reporting has been more encouraging, though, with the injury described as a sprained ankle that is not expected to be long-term. Even so, his return timeline remains unclear.
That uncertainty is what opened the door for the speculation. Jeanty had been expected to stay at the center of Klint Kubiak’s offense after a rookie season that included 975 rushing yards, 346 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns. When his status suddenly became cloudy, longtime Dallas writer Clarence Hill Jr. floated a hypothetical that brought Crosby’s name back into the mix.
“With Jeanty hurt, the Raiders might as well trade Maxx Crosby to the Dallas Cowboys now and work on getting Jeremiah Smith at the top of the draft”, Hill Jr. wrote.
It was speculation, not reporting on any actual deal. There is no credible indication that the Raiders and Cowboys are engaged in trade talks, and the post stands as an outside theory rather than evidence of a move in progress.
Still, Crosby’s name tends to pop back up quickly because of how valuable he is and because trade chatter has followed him before. Sporting News reported that Crosby remains in Las Vegas after an offseason trade with Baltimore fell through, which helps explain why his situation keeps resurfacing whenever the Raiders hit turbulence.
For now, the more immediate issue in Las Vegas is Jeanty’s ankle, not Crosby’s future. If Jeanty does miss time, rookie Mike Washington Jr. could see a larger role after standing out in camp, and the Raiders have other backs available to help Klint Kubiak sort through the backfield. The quarterback battle between Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza adds another moving piece to the offense, while Jeremiah Smith is only a hypothetical 2027 target in the material provided.
So the Raiders are left with a familiar mix of injury concern and outside noise. Jeanty’s timeline is still the real question.
Crosby is still in Las Vegas. And the Cowboys angle remains just that - a conversation, not a confirmed path.
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