Everybody wants Maxx Crosby after five Pro Bowl seasons and two All-Pro campaigns; that is no surprise. But for another team to actually acquire him, it would take the superstar requesting a trade or the Las Vegas Raiders being open to dealing him. No confirmation has been made on either front.
Most reports have indicated that the Raiders have a steep asking price for Crosby and that they are unwilling to budge. Those same reports have made it known that Crosby wants out, but won't vocalize it publicly out of respect for the fanbase and owner Mark Davis.
But in the wake of a fairly large hit piece on Las Vegas from The Athletic's Michael Silver on Wednesday morning, reconciliation between Crosby and the Raiders seems less likely than ever. And one team keeps coming up as the most common trade destination: The Chicago Bears.
Bears trading for Raiders star Maxx Crosby feels imminent
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer released his list of NFL teams that are closely monitoring Crosby's situation, and the Bears were one of many on that. But Breer and Conor Orr went into further detail about why Chicago, in particular, makes sense.
"Chicago," Breer and Orr both said, nodding their heads.
"They've been looking for an edge rusher; they've got Montez Sweat on the other side," Breer said. "They were in the divisional round last year. They went toe-to-toe with the Rams. ... The idea of that, Chicago would make sense to me.
"Now, that's a team that's in a position to punch the accelerator and go for it, right?" Orr asked. "That's a team that makes a lot of sense. Now, we're talking."
It's not just Breer and Orr talking, though. CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones also reported that the Bears, especially, as well as the Dallas Cowboys, are teams to watch in a potential Crosby trade. But again, that is not the only source of information that we have to deal with.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the odds for Crosby's next team are as follows:
Chicago Bears -145
Las Vegas Raiders +165
Dallas Cowboys +800
Buffalo Bills +1200
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1300
New England Patriots +1300
If you're not an odds expert, this means that DraftKings believes it is most likely that Crosby's next team will be the Bears. They're not going to put out a betting line that they believe they'll lose money on, and they seem to think that it is more likely Crosby is in Chicago than Las Vegas next year.
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But, again, more intel exists to go off of. Jones, in that same piece for CBS Sports, lists the Raiders as a potential trade destination for Bears wide receiver DJ Moore. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano believe that Las Vegas is in on a potential trade for Chicago linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
The reported asking price for Crosby is two first-round picks and a prominent player. While it is unlikely that the Raiders get two Day 1 selections for a nearly 29-year-old edge rusher coming off an injury, the Bears could sweeten the deal with two productive players.
Moore and Edmunds would instantly become the best wide receiver and linebacker on Las Vegas' roster, so the Silver and Black could do much worse in a theoretical trade return. Chicago is in a contending window and has the capital to send to the Raiders. It makes a lot of sense.
While teams like the Cowboys, who hold pick No. 12 and No. 20 in April, may be more intriguing from a draft capital perspective, the Bears have more talent to offer. Between reports that Chicago is in on a Crosby deal and that the Raiders may be in on the sweepstakes for a few Bears, the stars are aligning.
Nothing is concrete or guaranteed at this juncture, but it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the smoking pluming around a potential deal between Las Vegas and Chicago centered around Maxx Crosby. A trade could very well be imminent.