Raiders predicted to trade $106.5 million star in blockbuster offseason move

Raiders predicted to trade $106.5 million star in blockbuster offseason move originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

To say the 2025 season has been a disappointment for the Las Vegas would be a massive understatement.

The team had high hopes for this season after bringing in Pete Carroll to be the head coach, Chip Kelly to be the offensive coordinator, and Geno Smith to be the quarterback.

It's now Week 14 though, and the Raiders are sitting at 2-10. Kelly has already been fired, and Smith has been one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league. As a result, it wouldn't be surprising to see the team make some bold moves this offseason.

Logan Ulrich of NFL Trade Rumors recently compiled a list of players who could get traded this offseason. Ulrich identified Maxx Crosby of the Raiders as a logical trade candidate due to his hefty contract and the lack of team success.

Regarding a potential Crosby trade, Ulrich offered the following:

The Raiders have been turning down trade interest in Crosby for two years now, including at the trade deadline in both 2024 and 2025. But eventually if the league keeps knocking, perhaps the door will crack open — especially because it’s looking more and more like Crosby will be playing for his fourth different head coach in four years in 2026. Crosby has seen just one winning season in seven years in Las Vegas, and the Raiders look poised for another rebuilding year in his eighth.

As Ulrich mentioned, Crosby has been a hot commodity for years now, but the Raiders have also rebuffed any interest. That could be changing now, though, as Crosby is only getting older and may not want to keep playing for a struggling franchise.

The Raiders just gave Crosby a three-year extension worth $106.5 million back in March. However, that was before the team essentially wasted the 2025 season, and the Raiders could save around $30 million by trading him next summer.

Crosby has been performing at an elite level again in 2025, so he'd have no shortage of suitors on the market. The Eastern Michigan product has played in all 12 games and has 59 tackles, eight sacks, and 23 tackles for loss.

Pro Football Focus gives Crosby an 81.2 grade for his 2025 performance, which is 16th out of 112 qualified edge-rushers.

Trading Crosby would be a tough pill to swallow, but the Raiders have so many needs and a trade of this magnitude could result in a ton of useful assets. The team may decide that paying a premium price for an aging edge-rusher isn't the smartest decision going forward.