Back in March, before the league year started, Maxx Crosby was very briefly no longer a Las Vegas Raider. But the Baltimore Ravens acted as if the health of a knee that had just been surgically repaired, and the recovery time from said surgery, was a big mystery, and they bailed on the deal.
By all accounts, things are all good between the Raiders and their star defensive end now. But it's undeniable that, despite being able to easily assume that significant and potentially promising changes to the coaching staff and roster were coming this offseason, he still asked for a trade.
While Raider Nation should be excited that Crosby is still around, his PR cover after the Ravens' trade fell through could land like he knew he had no other option but to accept what is and be excited. But one reporter believes that there is still an obvious situation in which Crosby is dealt this calendar year.
Las Vegas Raiders could take advantage of a Maxx Crosby trade mulligan
Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer, right after the trade to the Ravens fell through and again recently, has suggested that trade talks around Crosby could reignite if the Raiders have a rough start to the season. And with so many new pieces, it may take Las Vegas a bit of time to get going in 2026.
At that point, Crosby would presumably be fully healthy. But if the Raiders are something like 1-6 and Crosby is having a productive season, contending teams will presumably call about him before the trade deadline. There's a universe of circumstances where he'd even say that he wants to be traded.
As part of the answer to a recent mailbag question regarding trades that might still be pursued by the Los Angeles Rams, Nate Atkins of The Athletic brought up Crosby's name.
"I’d also keep an eye on Maxx Crosby," Atkins noted. "He seems to have mended things with the Las Vegas Raiders after the trade to the Baltimore Ravens was reversed, but the organization’s approach could change if the Raiders hit another tough start to a season."
The 2027 draft class is considered to be far better than this year's. But as long as Matthew Stafford is their quarterback, the Rams are all-in on a Super Bowl, and that coveted draft pick probably won't matter to them very much if they think they can make a Super Bowl run this season.
Atkins backed up that notion, with the easy potential timeline for things along that line to ramp up.
"The Rams want to be one of the rare teams willing to trade from an expectedly loaded 2027 draft class, with the idea that they’ll be picking at the very end of the first round. But those conversations are more likely in October than they are right now."
After teams generally balked at an asking price of two first-round picks for Crosby this offseason, before the Ravens agreed to pony up and got cold feet, even getting a late first-rounder at a future date would be a win for the Raiders.
As it directly pertains to the Rams and general manager Les Snead's "(expletive) them picks" mentality, maybe John Spytek can even coax an extra pick or two out of them in the later rounds for Crosby if the circumstances align.
Essentially, Las Vegas could either have Crosby and a strong start to the season, or potentially another collection of good picks if things start rough. Sounds like a win-win situation, even if Raider Nation likely prefers the former, at this point.
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