After a complicated offseason that included a botched trade with the Baltimore Ravens, the Raiders and Maxx Crosby seem to be in a good place, but there’s no question Crosby’s name is going to come up again around the trade deadline.
If the decision makers in Las Vegas warm up to the idea of trading Crosby again, NBC Sports host Mike Florio thinks the Dallas Cowboys will be the team to watch.
“Maxx Crosby is the one I’m going to be watching,” Florio said on the Yahoo Sports Daily podcast.
“Not necessarily before the season, but once the season starts, if the Raiders struggle because they’ve already stretched the rubber band to the point of trading him. And that was at a time when people were concerned about the health of his knee. He’s cleared. He’s back. Now, whether he’s got five more years in that knee is a different issue. But if they aren’t playing well and they understand that Maxx Crosby isn’t going to be part of the long-term solution and they could get value for him… I feel like that’s something we need to be watching as we get into the season…”
“I can see a team like the Cowboys. They’ve already talked about giving up future assets to improve their defense. And there was talk that they were thinking about making a play for Maxx Crosby back in March when the Ravens did. It would not surprise me if the Cowboys contend, the Raiders don’t, Crosby gets traded to Dallas.”
Raiders’ second-best trade offer for Crosby came from Dallas
Florio didn’t offer his reasons for naming the Cowboys as his favorite to trade for Crosby, but it’s worth pointing out that Dallas was one of the teams that went hardest after Crosby before all the craziness played out with Ravens.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in March, the Cowboys were the runners up to Baltimore in the Crosby sweepstakes that ended up going nowhere.
“The Raiders had two teams willing to swing for the fence here; the Cowboys and the Ravens,” Fowler said on ESPN’s SportsCenter in March.
“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.”
Adam Schefter agrees Crosby trade talks could resume at the deadline
For several weeks, ESPN Adam Schefter has been saying he believes Crosby could end up being a “Raider for life” but even Schefter acknowledged this week that the situation around Crosby could change quickly as the trade deadline approaches.
“I know a lot of people are thinking that Max Crosby wants to be trading. He wants to be there right now. And I think he’s going to be there,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show this week.
“I think the real question with Maxx Crosby and his future in Vegas comes down to what happens if this team doesn’t perform well. What if there’s a contender out there before the trade deadline that wants to beef up its pass rush? Could we see a team later this season, if the Raiders season is slipping away, make a run at Maxx Crosby? I could see that being a possibility in October. That I see.”
x: @raidersbeat
I’d think it would be ideal if the Niners are competing & they get involved….then end up losing the division to LA/SEA