The Las Vegas Raiders are scrambling to save their season, and that’s especially bad news for defensive end Maxx Crosby. He’s a premier pass rusher, and Crosby is in the prime of his career. But Crosby also loves being a Raider, and he wants to win while wearing the Silver and Black.

Those things don't fit together all that well. The Raiders are where they are, though, which is why they’re meeting with Crosby. Again. The did this dance with the player known as “Mad Maxx” last year, and the results was an offseason extension. 

That’s the good news in this situation. At least Crosby is still under contract, but both the Raiders and the defensive end were expecting the team to contend for a playoff berth. That’s beyond unlikely now given that they’re stuck at 2-5 in a tough division where the three teams above them all have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. 

So what will the Raiders say to Crosby this time around to make sure they know they're committed him? That part’s not clear, but we do know what Crosby said last season when Las Vegas was in exactly the same situation.

“I’m not here to rebuild; I’m here to win,” Crosby said in an article written by Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. “I don’t know, whatever that means, I’m here to win now. Wherever I’m going to be, I’m going to be here to win. That’s all that matters to me.”

Rumors are flying about Crosby, and one of the most prominent ones has him going to the Dallas Cowboys. It’s one of the few rumors out there right now that’s basically rooted in logic, given that the Cowboys traded their premier pass rusher, Micah Parsons, to the Green Bay Packers, and their defense has been awful as a result. That rumor has the Cowboys reaching out to the Raiders, not the other way around, and the Raiders will make sure Crosby knows that. 

Bad teams like the Raiders become magnets for trade rumors, and that’s not the only one Las Vegas is handling. Receiver Jakobi Meyers has been on and off the block for a while now, but unlike Crosby, he’s made it clear he’s seeking a new team. 

Could Crosby change his mind and do the same? It’s possible, but the extension he signed hypothetically keeps him in Las Vegas for three years, $106.5 milloin, and $91 million of that money is guaranteed. 

The big question for the Raiders is whether they might change their minds and sign off on possibly moving Crosby. If a team like the Cowboys offers a first round pick plus additional draft capital, the Raiders would be smart to at least consider it.