Maxx Crosby has regularly received public endorsements from the Raiders when his future has been discussed. That is still the case as the latest round of trade speculation continues.
General manager John Spytek has remained consistent in his public messaging on the Crosby front. That continued today when he was speaking to reporters at the Combine. Spytek was asked if he expects to retain the star edge rusher and he delivered an expected response.
“I do,” he said (via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden). “Maxx is an elite player, and I’ve been very upfront from the start when I got here that we’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them.”
Spytek did add that he is “always listening” when it comes to trade offers, and that applies to Crosby as well. Recent reporting has indicated it will take a monster offer to pry Crosby out of Las Vegas.
We’ve now heard multiple reports of a Micah Parsons-like haul being required for such a move, with the most recent offering indicating a bidding war could bump the asking price to two first-rounders. Parsons fetched two firsts and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, though the former Cowboys dynamo was going into an age-26 season at the time of that trade. Crosby will turn 29 this summer.
One wrinkle here would stand to help the Raiders set such a high asking price. Unlike Parsons or Khalil Mack (in 2018), Crosby is not positioned to need a new contract. The Raiders extended their top player on a $35.5MM-per-year deal that runs through the 2029 season. That makes this a rare situation, as most blockbuster pass rusher trades have come when a player is unable to reach a contract agreement with the trading team.
It would behoove the Raiders to listen on Crosby, as their roster has plenty of needs. Fernando Mendoza is expected to fill one of them at No. 1 overall, but Las Vegas finished 3-14 — with win No. 3 coming over a noncommitted Chiefs team. A trade would bring back at least a first-rounder and a Day 2 pick, perhaps more, to give Vegas an opportunity to add low-cost draftees to what is expected to be a Mendoza-centered roster soon. The team could certainly hang onto Crosby for his age-29 slate; or, like Parsons, the Silver and Black could delay a swap until the summer — with 2027 draft choices being the prize.
This storyline came about because Crosby voiced frustration about his injury-driven shutdown last season. The star edge rusher is believed to have spoken to the Raiders about wanting to be moved, even though no official trade request has emerged. The Raiders could force Crosby’s hand by refusing to trade him, putting pressure on the player to incur fines for missing training camp and/or miss game checks. But the team also may want to do right by its top 2020s performer.
We are in the first of the NFL’s 2026 trade windows, and plenty of teams will be eyeing the decorated EDGE. With the Combine serving as a gateway to trade and free agency prices, the Raiders will have a big decision to make soon.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.