Could a star pass rusher escape a struggling Raiders team for a rising Jacksonville Jaguars squad? A blockbuster trade looms.
Maxx Crosby is a great player on an awful team, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have an opportunity to change that.
Not too long ago, the Jags were among the NFL's worst franchises. In the 2020s, the team have put together 1-15, 3-14, and 4-13 campaigns, so to call Jacksonville a perennial winner would be a stretch.
But the Jags are winning now, the Las Vegas Raiders aren't, and Crosby, at 28, isn't old, but also might not be young enough to be playing at a high level by the time the Raiders are ready to compete for a Super Bowl.
In Crosby's seven seasons with the Raiders, Oakland/Las Vegas has only made the playoffs once, which was also their only winning season of Crosby's tenure. All the while, Crosby has become one of the best edge rushers in football, having been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the last five seasons and twice named All Pro. The past two seasons, in particular, have been brutal.
Las Vegas went 4-13 in 2024 and 3-14 this past season, leading to owner Mark Davis to look for a new head coach for the third consecutive offseason.
All of this is good reason for Crosby to want out of Las Vegas.
Crosby hasn't publicly said he wants out, rather utilizing Media 101 and saying he wants to retire a Raider, win a Super Bowl, etc.
But Crosby has been frustrated with the organization, with Fox's Jay Glazer reporting that Crosby wasn't happy when the Raiders decided to put him on injured reserve in late December, ending his season early.
Additionally, instability at head coach has reportedly frustrated Crosby.
The Jags have already gotten one key player from Las Vegas, acquiring WR Jakobi Meyers at this year's trade deadline.
It will be much tougher to get Crosby.
Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension this past March, meaning he won't be a free agent until after the 2028 season.
So to acquire him, the Jags would have to trade for him. This past September, the Dallas Cowboys traded one of the few edge rushers better than Crosby in Micah Parsons.
In return, Dallas got two first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
One could imagine Las Vegas' asking price would be similar, and with Crosby's age, salary and injury history, it might not be worth it for Jacksonville.
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