Maxx Crosby Trade Rumors John Spytek Update Bears Trade News
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Raiders defensive end and trade candidate Maxx Crosby.
The Chicago Bears are gathering intel at the 2026 NFL Combine on what trade options might be available to them before the start of the new league year on March 11, but it sounds as though Maxx Crosby won’t likely be on the table.
Crosby is one of the most highly-regarded potential trade candidates of the offseason and has frequently seen his name in the rumor mill ever since the Las Vegas Raiders opted to shut him down for the final two games of 2025 against his wishes.
Since then, Raiders general manager John Spytek has said all the right things about his five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher in public, answering “I do” when asked at the Combine on February 24 whether he expects Crosby to remain with Vegas for the 2026 season.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini has reported that a potential trade is “going to come down to what Maxx wants.”
“It started at the Super Bowl,”Russini said on ‘Scoop City’ on February 25. “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 wants 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’ Steep Asking Price for Maxx Crosby Revealed
From the Bears’ perspective, it is encouraging to hear that Crosby has the ball in his court and could potentially force the Raiders to trade him if he decides he wants that.
The bigger problem, however, is the Raiders’ staggering reported asking price.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, a league source told him that the Raiders are seeking “two first-round picks and a player” in exchange for Crosby, putting their price tag in the range of what the Dallas Cowboys received for the Micah Parsons trade.
The Green Bay Packers traded two first-round picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Cowboys to acquire Parsons, who quickly signed a $186 million extension. Parsons is two years younger than Crosby, though, and in the midst of his NFL prime.
The Bears would not need to worry about signing Crosby to an extension. He is signed to a $106.5 million contract that runs through the 2029 season and would cost his next team about $29 million annually. The asking price is brutal, though, for a Bears team that has many more needs than finding a premium pass rusher for their defensive line.
If the Raiders are seeking a pass-catcher, the Bears could potentially talk them down from two first-round picks if they package veteran wide receiver DJ Moore in the deal. They could also consider offering defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., who has drawn some trade interest at the Combine, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Maxx Crosby Likely a Pipe Dream for Bears in 2026
The Bears will most likely make the necessary calls to check in on Crosby’s availability and could bend over backwards to acquire him if they believe he could be a difference-maker for their 2026 roster. If Florio’s reported asking price proves accurate, though, it is far more likely that the Bears abandon the Crosby pipe dream and look elsewhere.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles has previously balked at the idea of his team giving up significant draft compensation to land a single player, making a conscious effort to avoid the pitfalls of his predecessor, Ryan Pace, who dealt away multiple first-round picks in his tenure and left the franchise with resource issues that Poles had to correct.
While Crosby is a premier NFL pass rusher, he would come with a high-end cap figure — roughly $30 million in 2026 — that is tough to reconcile with the current expenditures on the Bears’ defensive line, which include starter Montez Sweat ($25.8 million), Dayo Odeyingbo ($20.5 million) and former Pro Bowler Grady Jarrett ($18.926 million).
Crosby will also turn 30 before the start of the 2027 season, pushing him further into “high-risk” territory in terms of injuries for any team looking to make a trade for him.
At least Chicago will have the 2026 NFL draft to sort out their D-line troubles.