Maxx Crosby
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Maxx Crosby
One of the biggest stories of the offseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers centered around the potential signing of Maxx Crosby to help bolster the pass rush. Now however, it seems like their chances have taken a massive hit after the comments of Raiders general manager John Spytek.
At the NFL Combine, Spytek addressed questions about whether or not he believed Crosby would re-sign with the team this offseason. His answer seemed to give a resounding sense of confidence. “I do, yes,” Spytek asked when the question was raised to him. “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. It’s hard to build a great team without elite players.”
Raiders Send Strong Message on Crosby’s Future
For the Bucs, this is a massive deal as they were one of the teams that not only were favored to secure his signature, but also one of the teams who could have potentially gotten a deal over the line. Both Spytek and Bucs GM Jason Licht have a good relationship with each other, leading many Bucs fans to start hoping of a move for Crosby. Now, it seems like a moot point.
Now, the dream may not necessarily be over. It will be more about the task at hand. Now that Spytek has spoken about Crosby, his price tag has just gone way up. The Bucs, while not known for taking huge risks in free agency, would now seemingly have to pay a significant fee for his services. However, trying to sign Crosby doesn’t immediately fix other issues that the Bucs will be facing this offseason.
Tampa Bay Must Balance Star Pursuit With Internal Priorities
Not only do the Bucs wish to extend certain players, such as Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr., they also have to worry about the futures of Mike Evans and Lavonte David. As a result, they may need to find replacements for both, whether it be through free agency or the draft. Either way, the Bucs may have worried more about in house decisions anyway despite the Crosby rumors.
The hope for the Bucs is that Crosby firms up on his stance that he does not wish to play for the Raiders anymore and out of all the teams clamoring for his services, they may have the upper hand. Apart from Spytek and Licht’s good standing, their former Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady now owns the team. While that may not be enough to sway the Raiders, it is a platform for the Bucs to try and take advantage of.
For now, it’s safe to assume nothing concrete concerning Crosby will occur in the next few weeks. It still may be too early for any movement. However, that does not mean that for either team, this lengthy saga is over.