Maxx Crosby is back in the trade conversation, this time because a proposed deal would send him from the Las Vegas Raiders to the San Francisco 49ers. The idea, floated by Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, would move the 28-year-old edge rusher for a 2027 Round 1 Pick, a 2028 Round 2 Pick and Edge Mykel Williams.
That is why Crosby is being searched now: the Raiders have added talent this offseason, may have found their franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, and still sit in the middle of a rebuilding team trying to sort out its future before the 2026 season. The proposal also gives the 49ers a chance to add pop to a pass rush that faces multiple questions as training camp approaches.
The push for Crosby comes against a sharper backdrop in the NFL. Since the start of the 2024 NFL Season, the Denver Broncos have won 24 regular season games, the Kansas City Chiefs have won 21 and the Los Angeles Chargers have won 22, leaving the AFC West framed as a three-horse race while the Raiders try to catch up. In that setting, moving a player like Crosby would be the sort of decision that changes not just one roster, but the balance of a division.
There is a catch, though, and it is a big one. The Raiders have given no indication they are actively shopping Crosby, even after nearly trading him this offseason and seeing a move to the Baltimore Ravens fall apart at the last minute after a failed physical and two first-round picks were on the table. That leaves the public proposal in a different lane from any real front-office momentum.
Crosby has tried to close the door on the drama. He told reporters it was water under the bridge, said it was a long time ago, and added that he had learned a lot about what this league can bring, along with the kind of adversity you cannot always anticipate. He said he had been through a lot in his life, that it was nothing to him, and that he is here, wants to be here and is excited to be here. He also said he has got a lot of work to do.
For now, the cleanest reading is simple: the Raiders are not acting like sellers, Crosby is acting like a player focused on the next season, and the only thing that has changed is that another team-building argument has been made in public. Whether the Las Vegas Raiders ever turn that argument into a real offer before the 2026 season is the question hanging over all of it.
