Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
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(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek put to rest the Maxx Crosby trade rumors when he spoke to the media on Feb. 23. Despite the speculation running wild since Super Bowl week, the Silver and Black have no plans to trade their veteran pass rusher.
“Maxx is an elite player and I’ve been very up front 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 said (h/tPro Football Talk). “It’s hard to build a great team without elite players.”
Nonetheless, even with Spytek’s remarks, The Athletic’s NFL insider Diana Russini shared the latest on Crosby’s future with the Raiders.
“It started at the Super Bowl,”Russini said on the Feb. 25 edition of Scoop City. “It started to get some steam because some reporting came out, some stuff we did. The sense I’m getting on Maxx right now, I don’t think anything’s changed. I know John Spytek, the general manager, said that he foresees Maxx being on the roster; I think he has to say that. I think he should say that.
“The Raiders have chosen to support their star player because, you know, Maxx is listening. He’s going to want to hear his general manager want him back. I think it’s going to come down to what Maxx wants. I can tell you the sense here is that teams are talking to his agent. They’re going to hopefully do that when they legally can to get an idea of where Maxx wants to play.”
Raiders GM Reveals Communication With Maxx Crosby
Moreover, Spytek noted he’s also had plenty of communication with Crosby, which woulddispell that there’s a rift between the player and the front officefor their decision to shut him down at the end of the 2025 NFL season.
“Maxx and I have a great relationship,” Spytek added. “He’s in the building every day getting healthy right now. We talk on the phone, we text. So, I have a great relationship with Maxx.”
Bears Unlikely to Make a Move for Maxx Crosby
Whether or not the Raiders trade Crosby, one team might not be willing to make an offer that blows the Silver and Black away. Chicago Bears reporter for ESPN Chicago, Courtney Cronin, isn’t buying into the speculation that Crosby could be heading to the Windy City 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.”
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 of work they have to do financially 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.”