Maxx Crosby.
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The Chicago Bears haven't lost their hopes on getting Las Vegas Raiders edge Maxx Crosby in the fold for the 2026-27 season.
The Chicago Bears still face an uphill path to trading for Maxx Crosby, if they are actually interested in doing so, but such an acquisition can still make sense in the Windy City based on the team’s free agency additions thus far. However, that no longer appears to be true for the Detroit Lions.
Detroit signed former Minnesota Vikings pass-rusher DJ Wonnum on Tuesday, March 17. And while the Lions didn’t spend huge in that regard, inking him to a one-year contract worth a maximum of $6 million, it does appear they have found their starter opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
Wonnum has started 54 games across six NFL seasons, including 15 of 16 last year with the Carolina Panthers and 23 of the 24 contests he played across two years with the Panthers following his initial four-season run in Minnesota.
Maxx Crosby Trade Remains Possibility This Offseason
Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
GettyDefensive end Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Anytime any team with an edge-rush need spends any significant money on a player to fill that role, that makes it less likely said franchise will pony up the significant amount of draft capital it is going to take to acquire Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Both the Raiders and Crosby have indicated they intend to move forward together after the Baltimore Ravens withdrew their offer of two first-round picks and canceled an already agreed upon trade following a failed physical by the five-time Pro Bowler earlier this month.
However, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported over the weekend that a Crosby move remains on the table after the Raiders already technically dealt him once and spent north of $280 million in the opening days of free agency not believing Crosby’s substantial salary cap hit would remain on the books.
“Everybody seems like they’re in a good spot, but since [the Raiders] already looked at trading, they’re open to that possibility, potentially, if the right offer would come,” Fowler said on SportsCenter Sunday. “We’re looking at timelines here. Now is gonna be a little slow, but you get closer to the draft, perhaps trade offers will heat up, or even maybe closer to the season. But right now, he’s a Raider, and that’s expected for at least a little while.”
Maxx Crosby Most Likely to Remain With Raiders in 2026
Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
GettyDefensive end Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicated Wednesday that the most likely outcome for the 2026 campaign is that Crosby remains with the Raiders.
“If the Raiders were gonna trade him today — today — I think his value would be 80 cents on the dollar. All the factors that are out there make it less likely that Maxx Crosby would be traded,” Schefter said. “And, most important, we have Maxx Crosby professing his love to the Raiders and saying he wants to be back there.”
“Could we see a situation later this offseason, always, where a team says, ‘We want Maxx Crosby. We’re willing to give you a first-round draft pick,’ whatever it may be. Yeah, that’s always possible, of course,” Schefter continued. “But the most likely scenario, and I don’t think it’s close right now, is that Maxx Crosby is a Raider for the 2026 season.”
The market for Crosby shrunk considerably over the first few days of free agency, as teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and others spent significantly, either via free-agent signings or trades, to add to their respective pass-rushing groups.
That, in turn, makes it less likely that the Raiders can get anywhere close to the two first-round picks the Ravens offered for Crosby, which analysts like Bill Barnwell of ESPN openly questioned as far too high in the first place.
So while all of that makes it less likely Crosby gets traded, because there are fewer suitors and less return potential to incentivize Las Vegas, it does put a team like Chicago — which analysts have talked about as a top candidate for Crosby from the beginning — in position to acquire the superstar defensive end if the Bears come with a strong offer.