It has been difficult to see through the mist of all the trade rumors circling around Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby. On the one hand, a move could be imminent, given Crosby's great value and his prime years not aligning with when the Raiders are hopefully ready to compete again.
On the other hand, Las Vegas has not signaled at all that it wants to trade its $106.5 million man. And while Crosby hasn't done much to denounce the rumors or re-up his commitment to the Silver and Black this offseason, he hasn't exactly requested a trade, either. This could, truly, all be a big nothing.
But that hasn't stopped numerous trade ideas from floating around the NFL mediascape, outlining what kind of draft capital and/or players the Raiders could get in return for Crosby. Most of the packages are favorable. ESPN's trade idea sending Crosby to the Los Angeles Chargers is not. At all.
ESPN's Chargers-Raiders trade idea for Maxx Crosby is laughable
ESPN had four analysts pitch their trade ideas for Crosby, and three of them included a good veteran wide receiver and a first-round pick, and in some cases, more. Seth Walder, however, had a truly bonkers trade package for Crosby, courtesy of the AFC West rival Chargers.
Raiders get:Â 2026 second-round pick (No. 55 overall), 2026 sixth-round pick, 2027 fifth-round pick
Chargers get:Â Maxx Crosby
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Are we talking about the same Maxx Crosby?
Okay, let's give Walder a chance to explain himself:
"Let me start with the Raiders, who would surely bristle at the notion of trading their star within their division. But that fear is short-sighted: If you are going to trade away a star, why not take draft capital from a rival? By the time the Raiders are true contenders again, Crosby might well be slowing down while the draft picks have four cost-controlled years to play for Las Vegas -- and against the Chargers.
"The Chargers, with Chris O'Leary replacing Jesse Minter at defensive coordinator, could use help at edge rusher. Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh are pending free agents, so the Chargers could use their bounty of cap space to trade for and absorb Crosby's contract. The fact that Crosby's deal is salary heavy (meaning the Chargers take on the money) and that he will turn 29 before next season, is why I'm not offering a first-round pick here."
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
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Let's dissect this.
Walder is absolutely correct that the Raiders would bristle at trading Crosby to the Chargers. In fact, it's probably a non-starter. Trading him to an AFC West foe would drive up the price, and not down; Las Vegas would need a king's ransom on the table to even consider making a deal.
Essentially, the argument is to let Los Angeles have a better chance to run the division for a few years so that, hopefully, in a few years, when Crosby slows down, the Raiders have three superstars that they drafted in the late-second, late-fifth, and late-sixth rounds. That's supposed to fill the void?
Not to mention, Las Vegas isn't going to trade Crosby's salary. If they do deal the superstar edge, it's likely that, to hit their cash spending floor, the Raiders will restructure his deal into a signing bonus and make him cheaper for other teams to increase the bidding. To multiple firsts. Not zero.
Of course, even at his current price tag, Crosby is worth at least one first-round pick. In the other proposed deals, the Raiders got either D.J. Moore or Chris Godwin and a first-rounder plus a Day 2 pick, or George Pickens and a first-rounder.
That is a far cry from zero first-rounders and no good players in return. It confounds reason to even consider a trade package that small, and it is senseless to think that Las Vegas would trade him within the AFC West, let alone both.
If the Raiders trade Crosby, he'll go to the highest bidder, and if all things are equal, they'd send him to the NFC. But settling for pennies on the dollar, if that, to send him to the Chargers for a few "cost-controlled years" would get John Spytek or any other NFL general manager fired.
So let's just laugh, Raider Nation, and rest assured that if Crosby does indeed get dealt, it's unlikely to be to the Chargers, and it definitely won't be at that price.