The Raiders and Maxx Crosby seem to be in a better place than they were a month ago, but is there a possibility Crosby could still be traded before the start of the season?
The Browns shocked the league last week when they traded Myles Garrett and before that development, most would have said Crosby was the more likely player to be dealt.
The Raider fan base might not have a lot of enthusiasm for trade rumors around Crosby, but former Raider great Lincoln Kennedy said this week that it’s not an unreasonable discussion to have.
“As much as Raider Nation might be tired of hearing about the possibility of the Maxx Crosby trade, this is just news,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“We have no insight of whether or not it’s going to happen, but don’t be surprised if it does. If a team comes out of woodwork and gives you an offer you can’t refuse, don’t be surprised if it does. I’ve come to the rationalization that this is a business… It happens.”
With Garrett going to the Rams (and Aaron Donald probably joining him at some point in the season), it will be interesting to see if another team might get desperate and raise their offer for Crosby.
National Insider names four teams he believes would be interested in trading for Crosby
“Crosby’s $29 million salary has become fully guaranteed in 2027, which means any team that acquires him would owe him $59 million in fully guaranteed money over the next two years,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported last week.
“That isn’t a bad number for a player of Crosby’s caliber,” Graziano continued, “but [Crosby] turns 29 in August, and it remains to be seen what he looks like coming off a knee injury that was bad enough to kill a trade. I wouldn’t expect Crosby trade talk to heat up again until he gets on a field and shows he’s healthy. And from everything I’ve been told, that could be in August or later.”
“Crosby might stick with the Raiders all year at this point, but if he’s going to get traded at all, we’re probably looking at something in-season ahead of the deadline. If a team such as the Cowboys, Bills, Bears or Patriots finds itself in contention and in need of an impact pass rusher, things could get interesting here again.”
Graziano didn’t mention the Eagles, but they aren’t a team to sleep on, either.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero says the Rams were after Crosby prior to trading for Garrett.
“Myles Garrett was not the first pass rusher that they pursued in this offseason,” Pelissero said on the Rich Eisen Show.
“They had eyes on players, whether it was via free agency, whether it was via trade. There may have been a scenario somewhere along the line where Maxx Crosby could have been the player who ended up with the Rams instead… There is certainly a scenario where it could have been Maxx Crosby, not Myles Garrett, ending up in LA.”
Last week, Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer said the Rams offered the Raiders the equivalent of a couple first-round picks for Crosby in 2022, but it hasn’t been reported what they were offering this year.
How will Crosby’s situation play out?
Reading between the lines, it seems like the Raiders are sitting back waiting for an offer similar to what the Ravens offered in March.
Maybe they’ll get another offer like that; maybe they won’t.
But from the outside it certainly seems like Crosby is available to any team still serious about trading for him. It’s a strange dynamic, but it seems like Crosby is part of the Raiders’ future… while sitting squarely on the trade block until someone makes an offer close to what the Ravens did in March.
x: @raidersbeat