The trade auction market for Los Angeles Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby is now open for bidding, and according to Albert Breer of MMQB, a pair of intriguing interested parties have emerged. Both were in the Super Bowl, and both the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have surfaced as potential trade partners, according to a report written by Adam La Rose of ProFootball Rumors.com.
If the report is accurate—and Breer has a reputation for being fairly plugged in around the league—the move makes more sense for New England. They were stout up the middle on defense this year, with tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore anchoring a defenses that did well against the inside run game, a least until they were shredded by Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III, who consistently bounced outside for big runs in the Super Bowl that made him MVP.
But New England had a big weakness out on the edge. K’Lavon Chaisson had a nice season as an edge rusher, but the Patriots lacked a dominant pass rusher to strike fear into opponents.
Crosby would provide that and then some. He wreaks havoc on opposing defenses even when he's double-teamed, and at 28 Crosby is still in his prime. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel knows something about edge rushers having played linebacker on Super Bowl Winning teams, and he’s the perfect coach when it comes to using Crosby as a chess piece to find and exploit mismatches.
Seattle’s also a fit, but with the Seahawks adding Crosby would be more about their system. They blasted New England by building a strong system that had pass rushers all over the field, from the front seven to the defensive backfield. The Seahawks are likely going to lose linebacker Boye Mafe as he comes to the end of his rookie contract, and according to Breer the team isn’t keen on retaining him, with multiple other priorities at the top of their offseason to-do list.
There’s still a long way to go to get to a trade like this, however. New coach Klint Kubiak had a supposedly successful initial meeting with Crosby, and owner Mark Davis has also talked with his defensive end to see if he can keep Crosby in the fold. Expect more reports about this to surface in the coming weeks, but we really won’t know until we get closer to the draft how this particular Raiders' soap opera is going to play out.