The Las Vegas Raiders have been a very bad football team during the 2025 NFL season. That has been the case in all but one year since Maxx Crosby was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, back when the franchise was still in Oakland.
And yet, the superstar defensive end reaffirmed his commitment to the organization this offseason with a $106.5 million extension that ties him to Las Vegas through the 2029 season. At every turn, he has taken the opportunity to prove to Raider Nation that he is loyal to the Silver and Black.
Somehow, though, the same conversations happen every year like clockwork. Las Vegas underperforms compared to expectations, Crosby rightfully expresses his frustration and desire to be better, and those around the league theorize that Crosby wants out. But he doesn't, and never has.
DeMarcus Ware insists on Maxx Crosby moving on from Raiders
With another trade deadline of Crosby trade rumors swirling long over, any talks about the heartbeat of the Raiders' defense being traded should be shelved until at least the offseason. But as the fan base knows, with an elite player like Crosby, there are going to be plenty of opinions thrown around.
On Monday, Hall of Fame defensive end DeMarcus Ware appeared on the Up & Adams Show, and somehow, Crosby came up. After acknowledging that Crosby is among the league's best pass-rushers, Adams asked Ware about Crosby's future.
"For Maxx, if he can probably get out of the Raiders and go somewhere, I don't know exactly where he'll go, I think that would be great for him," Ware said. "It would probably end up being a business deal that would get him to change over. Otherwise, he's gonna say, 'Nah, I'm gonna be right here, I'm gonna be loyal, and I'm just gonna keep playing.'"
Ware acknowledged that Crosby is a loyal guy, and that unless a "business decision" arises, like the team wanting to trade him, his contract expiring or some other sort of extenuating circumstances, Crosby would just assume remain in Las Vegas.
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Adams then directly asked Ware if he wanted to see Crosby play elsewhere in the NFL so as to raise his profile even more and give him a chance to win at a high level. Ware had the same answer that most others around the league would have.
"I wish he would," Ware said. "Seeing him in another uniform, I probably can't see it. But the production he can produce on another team that has a really good offense... He's still got a lot in the tank. When you're not on a good team, you get beat up. Every single time, the teams are gonna come in, they're gonna say 'Put a tight end, put a tackle on him, put a running back, we're chip him.' And now, he only got 2-3 more years left. But if he gets on a good team, now he's rushing the passer and doing what he likes to do, and now he's playing for 5-6 more years."
There it is. Crosby is great, but he could do more on another team. Crosby can produce, but it would be easier on another team. The Raiders suck, and everyone else is just a Maxx Crosby away from winning a Super Bowl, but Las Vegas couldn't possibly build around him and become a winner.
That's what anyone who talks about Maxx Crosby would have you believe about the Raiders.
It is the same charade every time that Crosby is brought up, and Raider Nation has probably gone from sick of it to simply numb to it. One would think that reporters and former players get tired of the same song and dance, but the Crosby trade wheels will keep turning until he's actually moved.
Or, more likely, until he retires a Raider.