The Dallas Cowboys tried and failed to land an elite edge rusher this offseason, instead settling for a pretty average edge rusher without much upside in a trade with the Green Bay Packers for former 1st round pick Rashan Gary.
Gary should be serviceable, but what the Cowboys need at edge rusher is a difference maker — and 1 might still be out there.
While the Cowboys have traditionally not engaged in trades with NFC East rivals, Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay predicts Dallas could be the top landing spot for New York Giants edge rusher and former No. 5 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The best part for the Cowboys? It probably wouldn’t cost them too much.
“The Dallas Cowboys make sense as a landing spot for the talented but underperforming edge defender, even if it means working out a deal with a bitter NFC East rival to acquire him,” Kay wrote. “With Thibodeaux playing out the final year of his rookie deal and set to hit free agency next spring, the Giants don’t have a ton of leverage in trade negotiations … Dallas has several draft picks in this range it could use to make a run at Thibodeaux, including Nos. 92 and 112 overall. While his recent efforts don’t quite warrant that sort of capital, Thibodeaux is still only 25 years old and has shown he can be a double-digit sack contributor when healthy and motivated.”
Kayvon Thibodeaux Coming Off Rough Season
Thibodeaux missed a career-high 7 games with a shoulder injury in 2025 and finished with a career low 2.5 sacks. He now finds himself firmly behind NFL All-Pro Brian Burns and 2025 No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter on the depth chart.
The Cowboys might have the key to finally unlocking Thibodeaux’s potential with a new defensive coordinator in 34-year-old former Philadelphia Eagles assistant coach Christian Parker.
Thibodeaux, 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of the University of Oregon — a year in which the Giants had 2 picks in the Top 10 and also took offensive tackle Evan Neal at No. 7 overall.
Through their first 4 seasons, neither Thibodeaux or Neal has made a Pro Bowl, and both were taken ahead of 4 different 1,000-yard receivers in Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jameson Williams.
Supreme Motivation to Cash Out in Free Agency
At 25 years old, Thibodeaux has exactly 1 chance to land a massive payday by how he plays in 2026. Spotrac already projects his market value in free agency to be something in the range of a 4-year, $74.6 million contract in the 2027 cycle.
If Thibodeaux comes to the Ravens and delivers a double-digit sack season in 2026 and plays on a team that’s a true AFC contender, that number could easily soar past $100 million.
There’s a prime example of a player who did exactly that and who was in Thibodeaux’s same situation in 2025. After the Philadelphia Eagles traded a 3rd round pick for Miami Dolphins edge rusher and former 1st round pick Jaelan Phillips at the NFL trade deadline, Phillips played his way into a 4-year, $120 million free-agent contract with the Carolina Panthers — the most money ever paid to a non-skill position free agent in NFL history.
Cowboys Called ‘Top Landing Spot’ for Hated Rival’s Former 1st Round Pick