Would the Raiders (still) be willing to trade Maxx Crosby for the right offer?
The California Post’s Vinny Bonsignore said last week the Raiders would absolutely revisit a Crosby trade if the right offer were on the table, and that would make sense considering they were already in that place four months ago.
Many believe the Raiders would get the best return for Crosby closer to the trade deadline, once he has demonstrated to the league that he is in good health, but is there a chance the decision makers in Las Vegas would prefer to do the trade before the start of the season and avoid the risk of Crosby being injured again?
It’s not often a team looks to get rid of a great pass rusher at 29 years-old, but it’s worth noting that Richard Seymour was the same age in 2009 when the Patriots sent him to Oakland in exchange for a first round pick.
Considering the Raiders are at least a year or two away from competing for a Super Bowl, there’s an argument to made that they should get what they can for Crosby now and build for the future.
Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn has a history of wild statements, and the long time Bay Area media personality said this week he believes the Raiders would still like to trade Crosby.
Referencing a conversation Crosby had with a young fan this week, Cohn probably read into Crosby’s comments a little more than most.
“Notice he wasn’t offended by the question,” Cohn said of the interaction.
“He didn’t say he’s a Raider for life. He said he can’t join the 49ers, which is true, because he’s under contract with the Raiders, and then he said you never know, which also is true, because the Raiders want to trade him,” Cohn continued.
“I’m guessing the 49ers want to offer the Raiders a first-round pick, a second-round pick and Mykel Williams in exchange for Crosby, and I’m guessing the Raiders would like to see Williams return from his ACL injury before making such a trade. In addition, another team, such as the Eagles could outbid the 49ers for Crosby.”
It seems like a stretch to say Crosby was sending the message that he is open to playing for the 49ers, but it’s fair to wonder if Tom Brady and GM John Spytek might be a little more open to trading Crosby than what’s being reported.
It’s all speculation, but if Brady and Spytek do want to enter full rebuild mode and trade Crosby, there would be no advantage to advertising their intentions.
No one in Las Vegas (including Crosby himself) wanted the league (or fans) to know he was available in March and if Crosby is on the trade block now, there’s no reason to think anyone involved would approach the situation any differently.
x: @raidersbeat
Wow! What an epiphany. They did trade him. It fell through it took a rocket scientist to come up with the Raiders wanna trade Crosby. What a joke.