The Las Vegas Raiders haven't been shy about making major moves to begin the 2026 NFL offseason. Before the frenzy that is the legal tampering period began on Monday, John Spytek dealt Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens and traded for Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson.
Obviously, those two deals were of different magnitudes, and then they were followed up by a myriad of high-dollar signings once the open market commenced. The biggest of which was the addition of former Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum on a three-year, $81 million deal.
That significantly reset the center market and altered the Raiders' course as a franchise. But even more significant is that, just days later, it already seems like Las Vegas is the early winner of the blockbuster Crosby trade that occurred. Let's dive into why:
Raiders are already winning Maxx Crosby trade after Tyler Linderbaum signing
Las Vegas received two first-round picks for Crosby, which includes the No. 14 selection in 2026 and wherever the Ravens end up in 2027. But not only that, they offloaded all of Crosby's contract, which was set to be over $30 million in 2026.
Instead of having Crosby on the roster, the Raiders now have two first-rounders and Linderbaum, who is only making $10 million in 2026 and a total of $61 million over three years, not including the $20 million signing bonus, which doesn't entirely count against the salary cap this year.
Effectively, by trading Crosby, Las Vegas got two first-rounders, Linderbaum and about $20 million more to spend on contracts in 2026. That is an absolutely massive turnaround for a franchise in desperate need of tearing things down and building them back up the right way.
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Yes, Crosby is a legitimate game-wrecker and superstar that is irreplacable at defensive end. But one could argue that Linderbaum is the same type of player at center, and that two more first-rounders could provide the Raiders with two more difference-makers.
The Raiders' extra roughly $20 million in cap space also helped them land more young talent like linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, both of whom agreed to deals with Las Vegas on Monday.
Time will obviously tell who the real winner of this marquee deal is. But after one day of free agency, it already looks like the Raiders have the upper hand. Crosby is going to need to find levels that he hasn't played at before to prove that he was worth the haul that Baltimore gave up.