The Raiders have a big decision coming on Maxx Crosby and it’s been difficult in the last few days to make sense of where the situation is headed.
People in the Raiders’ building seem to think Crosby will be back in Las Vegas in 2026, but the national narrative continues to lean into trade possibilities.
Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer talked about Crosby’s future on Monday and was asked how he thinks the situation between Crosby and the Raiders is ultimately going to play out.
“I think they are going to trade him, but I don’t think they are going to be backed into a corner to do it,” Breer said on Sports Illustrated’s MMQB Podcast.
“I think he probably gets traded this week. But again, there are so many moving parts here and I’m not talking for Maxx here. I would want to make sure I’m clear about that. I would just say if I’m Maxx Crosby in this scenario, going through what I went through for the last couple of months does is it causes me to look at my football mortality,” Breer continued.
“I’ve talked about timelines… this is the second straight year he has finished the season injured. It is what it is. He’s turning 29. This is going to be his 8th season coming up, believe it or not, and now psychologically the door to being traded has opened. So now that wandering eye is looking around. What could this team do for me? What could that team do for me? And I just think for him it’s kind of one of those ‘Either this is going to happen for me now or I’ve got to really buckle in and roll the dice that the Raiders are going to get this turned around.”
Breer went on to say he thinks the Raiders will probably end up considering a first-round pick and “then some” for Crosby, adding that the teams to watch for Crosby are the Seahawks, Cowboys, Bears, Ravens, Bills, Patriots, Eagles and the Rams.
As for the team Breer liked the most to make a move for Crosby…
He seemed to point to the Cowboys, Patriots and Bears as the front runners but suggested the need and fit for Crosby in Chicago might make the most sense.
‘JT the Brick’ on the Crosby trade rumors
Raider Nation Radio host ‘JT the Brick’ addressed the rumors following Crosby since the end of the season and didn’t mince words on where he thinks the situation is headed.
“We have told you that all of the news around the NFL is fake news. I don’t use that term much. You don’t either, because I watch the news every night,” JT said on his Raider Nation Radio Show on Friday.
“But when it comes to the news of Maxx Crosby, most of it has been fake and I’ve been telling you that for months. Now, could he be traded? Yes, he could be. If something happens and there’s an impasse at some point, I don’t see it, but if it is, it’s not the end of the world. I didn’t trade him. I’m not the guy to do it, and I don’t think he’s going to get traded.”
“Everybody keeps score nowadays. Everybody keeps score. And then a lot of people that have no relationship to Maxx at all, they need to be heard on this topic because their editors and bosses are saying, ‘Look, man. You got to get your clicks up because we got a paywall. We have a paywall, and people aren’t paying to read your articles on the Raiders or someone else, so we need you to come up with something on Maxx to get your numbers up,’” JT continued.
“So people do that, and they say, Brian, reports are that what? What are your reports actually? What the hell are you reporting on Maxx Crosby that I’m not aware of? Oh, wait, what are you reporting? That they shut him down last year? Well, he was injured. The team was terrible. They fired all the coaches.
So what are you reporting that’s new? Are you reporting that you heard something from him that is worthy of putting that up there on NFL Network or ESPN or FOX? No, you’re not, but you have to do it because then what the hell are you good for if you can’t put anything out there and you’re a news breaker?”
“That’s what you do. So everybody is running around and they’re just throwing stuff up there… [these people] that have contacts with all these people. I have contacts with all these people too. I have a lot of them too. Some of them better. But I’m not in the news-breaking business.”
x: @raidersbeat