The perception has existed since March that the Las Vegas Raiders and star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby are just fine with continuing their working relationship after the Baltimore Ravens backed out of acquiring Crosby for two first-round draft picks before the current league year got underway.
The Ravens were reportedly worried about a “degenerative issue” in Crosby’s knee related to the meniscus repair he needed following the 2025 season. For his latest mailbag published on Wednesday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated suggested other teams could share similar concerns regarding the 28-year-old’s health.
Does Maxx Crosby not have much trade value after Ravens saga?
“I’d say there’s a very, very high percentage chance that Maxx Crosby starts the regular season with the Raiders, and I think everyone’s intention is for Crosby to settle back in as a leader and (they hope) an early torchbearer for (head coach) Klint Kubiak’s new program,” Breer wrote. “There’s also the reality that Baltimore’s decision to back out did have a chilling effect on Crosby’s trade value. The Ravens are a well-respected organization, so when they do something like this, that’s so unusual, it’s going to reverberate with other teams.”
History shows it’s unlikely the Raiders would now be in a rush to trade Crosby for draft assets that couldn’t be spent to improve the Las Vegas roster until 2027 at the earliest. After all, the Raiders made quarterback Fernando Mendoza the first overall pick of the 2026 draft, and he could find himself one play away from replacing veteran Kirk Cousins as the club’s QB1 this coming September.
That said, it was previously teased that the Dallas Cowboys or a different club could explore a trade for Crosby later this fall. Breer seems to believe such a scenario playing out is a possibility.
Albert Breer: Stay tuned for Maxx Crosby trade rumors to possibly resurface
“Let’s say, through eight games, the Raiders are struggling, at 2–6 or 1–7, and Crosby has nine sacks,” Breer continued. “At that point, GM John Spytek and Kubiak won’t have to do anything. Calls will come. Will they be receptive? It’s hard to project that far out. I don’t think it’d be smart to close the door on anything down the line, though. Crosby is too good a player not to have a shot at reestablishing the value he had in March, and the Raiders are still very much in a rebuilding phase. So stay tuned.”
Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5M contract extension last offseason, so the Raiders have no reason to sell him at a discounted price unless they fear he’ll never again be the same dominant force following his latest injury. However, it sounds like some around the league think he could become the subject of some interesting rumors before the trade deadline arrives in November.