Although the fan base probably never thought that it would feel this way, supporters of the Las Vegas Raiders are getting sick of hearing about Maxx Crosby. He was shut down for the season, didn't like it, but is now back at the team facility, and both sides seem to be handling things maturely. That's it.
However, Raider Nation can't quite shake the feeling that something nefarious is brewing behind the scenes, especially as those around the league weigh in and speculate about the superstar defensive end's future in Las Vegas.
While fans, in a basic sense, want Crosby to remain in the Silver and Black for his whole career, things are rarely that simple in the NFL. Fielding a successful team is certainly a complex equation, and the fan base also understands the arguments in favor of dishing the star player for tons of draft capital.
Eric Allen can see why Maxx Crosby would want to be traded
Hall of Fame cornerback Eric Allen, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders, spoke on the team's post-game show, as he does every week. He drew a parallel between the current Crosby situation and that of legendary Eagles defensive end Reggie White.
"I've been on both sides of this coin. I was there in Philadelphia when Reggie White and the Philadelphia Eagles didn't agree on the way they wanted to proceed forward," Allen said. "So, obviously, Reggie wanted to play and stay in Philadelphia. We had created a brotherhood there. We had been in playoff games. And it's nothing like working through the regular season, your bumps and bruises, and then having a player of Reggie's stature who is one of the best players to ever play, him wanting to stay there, but the team just felt like they would have a better opportunity to have more players, so they traded him away."
But Allen took things a step further by saying what Raiders fans don't want to admit about Crosby, which is that he may have to go elsewhere in the league if he wants to play in meaningful games and cement his legacy as a Hall of Famer.
"So, you see that, and you're like, 'How can they trade Reggie White away?' Years later, I'm in that situation, and you're like, you want to play meaningful games, and I think Maxx is in this situation," Allen said. "His legacy for the Raiders is already cemented. He's a great player. Five times to the Pro Bowl, all these tackle for losses. He needs to be in meaningful football games to cement his ability to wear the gold jacket at the end of his career. I'm a Raider fan. I've been a Raider fan for my whole life. We've given away or traded away players before. Hasn't worked out for us. We've brought in players that have worked out for us. I understand the organization has to have this conversation at the end. Is it better to have Maxx, who we all love on this football team, or is it a situation where we'll quicker rebuild with him on another team, and we get things for him? It's a really difficult conversation, but we have to have that conversation going forward."
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It is a sad state of affairs when the franchise is so bad that players need to get out if they want to play meaningful games or have a chance at the Hall of Fame. There are certainly players enshrined in Canton without Super Bowls, but to at least be in the conversation, you have to be on winning teams.
Yes, the Raiders are at a complete low point right now, but bottoming out is exactly what this franchise needed. They've locked in a top-two pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and should get their franchise quarterback, which would make the future multitudes brighter.
Crosby, as we've said, deserves to be a part of that future success with the Raiders. But fans wouldn't blame him if he wanted out, as he's been plenty patient enough with this franchise through some of their darkest times.
Fans just didn't necessarily want to hear that their team's inability to play meaningful games indicates that they are not capable of producing a gold jacket player, even one who is already among the NFL's elite, like Crosby.