Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
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(Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears have been the team floating in the speculation mill for Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby. Crosby was featured inESPN’s Bill Barnwell article, published Feb. 16, examining trade proposals that could make sense for both teams.
When it came to Crosby, Barnwell has him heading to the Bears. Moreover, with Caleb Williams’ appearance on the Raiders star’s podcast, speculation over a potential move to Chicago has run rampant in recent days.
Nonetheless, Bears reporter for ESPN Chicago, Courtney Cronin, isn’t buying into the speculation that Crosby could be heading to Chicago this offseason.
“I don’t know if the Bears view themselves as, ‘We are just one elite pass rusher away from winning a Super Bowl,’ when the draft class is as loaded with defensive talent as it is,”Cronin said on Feb. 19 during an appearance on “UNSPORTSMANLIKE.”
“Because that would be a very expensive cost, because not only in Barnwell’s piece, he predicted that they’d have to give up their 2026 first-round pick to get Maxx Crosby, and DJ Moore would be going to the Raiders, and then I believe it was a fifth-round pick in ’27 coming back.”
Can Bears Financially Afford to Add Maxx Crosby?
Cronin also noted the economic side as a major obstacle for Chicago, which needs to get its salary cap situation figured out before even considering a major financial commitment to Crosby.
“You’re on the hook for $61 million of Maxx Crosby’s salary in 2026 and 2027,” Cronin added. “They’re $10 million over the cap right now.They’ve got a lot ofwork they have to dofinancially to be able to afford things.
“Would he be an immediate upgrade over what they had on the defensive line? Absolutely. But I don’t think that this has as many legs as people want to infer, just based on the fact that the two were seen very comfortably engaging with each other.”
Raiders Unlikely to Get Micah Parsons Type Deal
Meanwhile, Cronin also subscribes to the notion that the Raiders won’t receive the same package the Dallas Cowboys received when they traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers last year, which was multiple picks and a player.
“If the Bears were to trade for a pass rusher of his caliber, it wouldn’t be the Micah Parsons package,” Cronin added. “I know Adam Schefter has talked about that, the two first-round picks, Kenny Clark, all of it. Micah Parsons was constantly in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, winning it, and that has not been the case for Maxx Crosby, who’s two years older and has none of those accolades to his name just yet.”
Still, she acknowledges that Williams and Crosby’s podcast episode together shows that the Raiders star would gel with the Bears’ franchise QB if Chicago were to make a move.
“Bill Barnwell put out a piece the other day, which then preceded this interview that came out of an hour-and-eight-minute-long conversation where those two looked very comfortable together,” Cronin said.
“It gets people thinking, well, the Bears need pass-rush help. Maxx Crosby doesn’t seem to want to be in Las Vegas. He’s shooting hoops after he gets shut down and put on IR for the rest of the seasonso they cango get the number one overall pick. Maybe it’s a pairing that could work out.”