Raiders’ Maxx Crosby Likely To Seek Trade

The dustup between Maxx Crosby and the Raiders regarding his injury shutdown brought considerable awkwardness, and teams around the league monitored the situation closely. That is likely to continue.

As Klint Kubiak will soon prepare to transition from Super Bowl play-caller to one of the architects behind the latest Raiders rebuild, he will soon be briefed on the Crosby situation. We heard last month a Crosby trade would be in play, and Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reinforces that. Crosby is likely done in Las Vegas, according to Glazer, who indicated during an appearance on Yahoo Sports Daily the injury issue last season and the prospect of another Raiders rebuild will likely push the eighth-year edge rusher to seek a trade.

The Raiders would want to keep Crosby, per Glazer, who would expect any trade to unfold before the draft. A Crosby trade would arm the Raiders with considerable draft ammo, but it is important to note the player is more eager to find an exit door than the team is to accommodate him. That could lead to an impasse, but the Crosby trade watch continues as the 2025 season wraps.

As many as 20 teams contacted Glazer after the contentious injury shutdown occurred. With Crosby displaying elite form in 2025, the Raiders would certainly ask for a first-round pick and then some ahead of the All-Pro’s age-29 season. The Raiders are not strangers to holding multiple first-round picks in a draft, but they squandered opportunities upon trading Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. A new regime would be tasked with making a two-first-rounder draft pay off — in the event Crosby is moved before this one.

Pete Carroll was believed to be against a Crosby shutdown, moving the blame/credit (as the Raiders secured the No. 1 overall pick) on the front office. This stands to benefit Kubiak, who will soon be coaching (barring a shocking course change) Fernando Mendoza and either have Crosby ready for an eighth season or a substantial picks package in exchange for trading the standout edge rusher.

The Raiders’ Carroll-Tom Brady-John Spytek regime extended Crosby last March, pushing his contract through 2029. Two years remained on the deal Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler authorized in 2022, and Crosby secured a $35.5MM AAV on his new pact. The Raiders would not be significantly affected by dead money, despite having paid Crosby recently, in the event of a trade. The contract includes a $30MM base salary for 2026 that would be transferred to an acquiring team. Rather than load up the deal with signing bonus money that would go on Las Vegas’ cap in the event of a trade, this regime made Crosby’s guarantee consist mostly of 2025 and ’26 base salaries.

Frontloading the contract will make it easier to move, pointing to this Raiders regime having a potential trade in mind when it structured the deal. If the Raiders trade Crosby, they would only be on the hook for his 2026 signing bonus proration ($5.1MM) in dead money. That represents an opportunity if Brady and Spytek want to go down this road.

When the shutdown happened before Week 17, Crosby “vehemently disagreed” with the decision. With Glazer reporting the edge rusher’s displeasure with the Raiders’ decision, it is not too hard to connect dots here. A report then indicated Crosby would evaluate his future in Vegas, and a video of him playing basketball and jumping on a trampoline despite an injured knee represented a clear message to the Raiders. The team, which also placed Brock Bowers on IR before a Week 17 loss to the Giants, had incentive to lose and completed the mission — a goal Crosby did not share.

Glazer pointed to a Micah Parsons-like return for Crosby. Las Vegas two first-rounders would be a bit of a surprise considering Parsons was heading into his age-26 season. But, as referenced above, Crosby is signed through 2029 on a contract that has since been dwarfed by Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson. That would be attractive to contending teams.

A bidding war would obviously benefit the Raiders, but we have seen these situations resolved peacefully in the recent past. Myles Garrett went from saying he was done in Cleveland to signing a four-year, $160MM extension. With the Raiders already paying Crosby, money may not resolve this matter. But no trade request has emerged. The Raiders have also refused to part with Crosby at recent trade deadlines, with Mark Davis confirming his top player’s unavailability at the 2024 deadline. The Patriots and Seahawks asked about Crosby before his extension last year. It does appear now, however, that Raiders fans need to prepare for the prospect of one of the best defenders in franchise history being moved soon.