Were the Cowboys the “Sleeping on the Job” Organization that Lost Free Agents to the Raiders?

The first wave of free agency has come to a close and there have not been many talking heads in the industry who haven’t been impressed by the Raiders’ free agent haul.

The Raiders brought back a few important pieces in the building (Malcolm Koonce and Eric Stokes) and bolstered their offensive line by adding one of the best centers in the league. But it was the linebacker group in Las Vegas that received the biggest makeover as GM John Spytek agreed to two of the biggest linebacker deals of the offseason.

Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker were two of the most sought-after linebackers in free agency and according to multiple reports, the Cowboys battled the Raiders both.

NFL Network’s Jane Slater said last week that Dean’s decision came down to the Raiders and Cowboys, but the former Eagles linebacker went with his “gut feeling” and chose to wear Silver & Black.

Dean ended up getting a three-year, $36 million deal with the Raiders, but he was apparently not as high on the Cowboys’ list as Walker.

Walker was reportedly a high priority for the Cowboys, but the former Green Bay Packer went with the Raiders on a three-year, $40.5 million deal.

Stealing players from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a good story, but the deeper details might be even better than advertised.

According to Raider Nation Radio host ‘JT the Brick’, there was at least one team the Raiders swooped in against and made a deal while the opposing GM wasn’t answering his phone.

“I have been told that… when Spytek was making deals, other GMs were not aware that the Raiders were on the phone making late afternoon deals, where the other GMs were sleeping on the job, and one of these players, they wanted the exact players that the Raiders got,” JT said on his flagship radio show last week.

“Spytek was humming at the Raider facility while others were not available or weren’t or didn’t feel a sense of urgency. They didn’t believe the Raiders after the Maxx Crosby trade, the Linderbaum move, [were] going out and getting [Jalen] Nailor, they didn’t see the Raiders coming to pounce on the defensive side of the ball.”

“According to someone who’s very connected,” JT continued, “Spytek pounced on the phones and closed those deals as other GMs. I don’t know if they were in the bathroom, I don’t know if they were on the phone with their wife, I don’t know if they were picking up their kids at school, but Spytek sensed that he could get in on this and he got the players and he closed down day one. It was incredible.”

JT didn’t mention the team he was referring to, but the Raiders and Cowboys clearly had interest in some of the same players, and it wouldn’t be a disappointment to learn the Cowboys were the team that got blindsided by Spytek… especially considering it was the Dallas team doctor who recommended to the Ravens to back out of the Maxx Crosby deal.

Coincidentally, the Cowboys were also said to be the runner up behind the Ravens to trade for Crosby.

“The Raiders had two teams willing to swing for the fence here; the Cowboys and the Ravens,” Fowler said last week on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

“The Ravens were willing to give up the two first-round picks, the Cowboys simply were not and I was told the Cowboys were low key devastated. They really wanted Maxx Crosby. They were eyeing him for months, but they just had a tipping point. It was a first-round pick and a second-round pick. They tried to involve a veteran player or two to sweeten the deal. The Raiders didn’t want to that. They simply wanted the youth and the draft picks.”

x: @raidersbeat