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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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The Dallas Cowboys got a much-needed win over the division rival Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, but the team’s defense is still a work in progress.
Dallas has just 10 sacks through seven games (tied for 27th). The three edge-rushers the Cowboys added this offseason — Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence and Von Miller — have combined for just 3.5 of them.
That’s why so many Cowboys fans want owner Jerry Jones to circle back on Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, whom Dallas chased this offseason before the Raiders agreed to send him to the Baltimore Ravens — a deal Baltimore backed out of over concerns about his knee.
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The Raiders are reportedly still asking for two first-round picks, and the Cowboys have only their 2027 first- and second-rounders to dangle after already trading away their 2028 second. There’s also questions about how effective Crosby, who has just two sacks in seven games while playing through the knee issue, can be the rest of the season.
However, ESPN’s Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler think there’s a cheaper option out there for Dallas.
In their ranking of the top 25 trade-deadline candidates, the pair tabbed the Cowboys — as well as the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills — as a fit for Los Angeles Chargers edge-rusher Khalil Mack.
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“Mack is productive and affordable,” Fowler wrote. “The Chargers gave him a $10 million signing bonus in March, so a new team would inherit the prorated version of his $8 million salary to close out his one-year deal. Returning to the Bears is a natural fit for the equivalent of a quality Day 3 pick. The Chargers have held off trading pieces such as Mack up to this point, though.”
The 35-year-old Mack doesn’t have the same burst he once did, but the nine-time Pro Bowler still wins with power and counter moves. He has three sacks and 16 pressures through six games, according to Pro Football Focus, and 14.5 sacks and 83 pressures over the past three seasons.
Those three sacks alone are nearly as many as Gary, Lawrence and Miller have combined.
Mack would also come without the cost of doing business with the Raiders — or a long-term commitment for a team already low on draft capital.
The Chargers are the NFL’s last winless team, but SI’s Albert Breer reported they aren’t ready to start a fire sale just yet (Fowler suggested a Mack deal would cost roughly a quality Day 3 pick).
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