Maxx Crosby was nearly a Baltimore Raven.
Instead, he remained with the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this offseason when the Ravens backed out of an agreed-upon trade, citing concerns with Crosby's physical.
It's created an odd situation, one in which no one is quite sure what'll happen next with Crosby.
Crosby and the Raiders are saying all the right things about him staying put, but it's easy to imagine that a trade could still be coming at some point.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell, in a new article on Monday, predicts that it could be the Philadelphia Eagles who make the deal.
He proposes a 3-for-1 setup that includes a couple draft picks:
Eagles get: Edge Maxx Crosby
Raiders get: 1-23, 2027 third-round pick, Edge Nolan Smith Jr.
"While Crosby is saying that he wants to move forward with the only pro organization he has ever known after his trade to the Ravens fell through, the same logic that led the Raiders to initially deal Crosby to Baltimore still holds," Barnwell writes. "Vegas doesn't appear to be close to seriously contending. Crosby turns 29 in August. He wants to win, ideally sooner rather than later. That might happen in Vegas, but by the time it does, Crosby could be well past his peak. With a predilection for trades and an affinity for elite defensive linemen, Howie Roseman's Eagles have always been on the fringes of the Crosby sweepstakes."
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Barnwell then explains that if not for finances, this deal might already have happened.
"The issue is money," Barnwell writes. "Philly is spending a whopping $219 million on their offense this season, and though the defense comes in at just over $86 million, those figures will change in the years to come. Jordan Davis just got paid, and D-line partner Jalen Carter should be next. Cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are about to get much bigger deals after 2026. The Eagles will have to shift some money from offense to the defense, and spending a ton on Crosby won't make that process easier."
Barnwell wonders if A.J. Brown getting sent to Vegas would actually make the most sense, but in the end, he proposes the edge rusher portion of the deal above that sends Smith to the Raiders.
It would certainly be flashy for the Eagles to get Crosby, and it'd be clearly more immediate impact than anyone they could land with the No. 23 pick.
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