Developing Maxx Crosby situation finally puts a potential trade on the table and the Bears shouldn’t be afraid to get involved
The Chicago Bears should be on the phone with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.
When Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby signed a 3-year, $106.5 million extension with the organization back in March of 2025, it seemed like a potential trade would forever be off the table.
Just a few months later, the Raiders are in contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft following another lost season for those in the Silver and Black. It’s not what anyone hoped for, especially Crosby who’s given his all to the organization for the last seven years.
Ahead of a critical game against the New York Giants to determine the first overall pick, Crosby made his intentions known about his desire to play out the 2025 regular season.
“Yeah, I don’t give a (expletive) about the pick, to be honest,” Crosby said Tuesday. “I don’t play for that. That’s not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world. That’s what I focus on every day. Being a great leader, being an influence. Being that guy on a consistent basis for my team.”
Well, the Raiders had different plans and made a decision that can drive a deeper knife into the back of their top franchise player ahead of the offseason.
Raiders plan to shut down Maxx Crosby for the remainder of the 2025 season
On Friday, the Raiders announced that the team will be shutting down Crosby for the final two games of the regular season due to a knee injury he’s been dealing with since October. Crosby, after hearing the news, reportedly disagreed with the decision and left the building.
NFL insider Jay Glazer noting that this development could “lead to questions on his future in Vegas” certainly puts the trade possibility back on the table this upcoming offseason. If true, multiple teams will be lining up to trade for the five-time Pro Bowl star, including the Chicago Bears.
Bears would have to do some financial gymnastics to bring in Maxx Crosby
When considering a trade involving Crosby, you might be thinking “how could a team be able to afford that massive new extension?” Well, it’s simpler than you might think, for some teams.
For Chicago’s side of things, this would still be a tricky thing to pull off. Looking at the books for 2026, the Bears don’t have much available cap space and have two defensive ends with a $20M+ cap hit in Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, who will be coming off a season-ending injury. The Bears also have big contracts on the books with wide receiver DJ Moore, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
For those big contracts, Chicago could look to trade say Moore or Sweat and maybe look to restructure, although it’s not something general manager Ryan Poles and the front office prefers to do. The good news is that the Bears won’t have any major extension candidates outside of right tackle Darnell Wright and safety Kevin Byard.
It would be incredibly difficult, but not impossible. And for a guy like Crosby, he’s absolutely something worth considering to the locker room.
There’s a lot of mutual love between the Bears and Maxx Crosby
Earlier in the season, the Bears faced off against the Raiders in Week 4 and Bears head coach Ben Johnson expressed a lot of high praise for Crosby.
“In my opinion, he’s a top five player in this league on defense and probably doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves,” Johnson said. “He’s all over the place. Relentless, high motor. You have to account for him and know where he is at every single snap or else he’ll get you and he wrecks drives. That’s what he does.”
Crosby certainly wrecked that game during the first-half and finished with an interception, three pass deflections, and five total pressures. The following week, Crosby had some high praise of his own for the Bears head coach and quarterback Caleb Williams.
“Ben Johnson is not stupid, bro,” Crosby said on his podcast. “He knows what he wants and what he likes and how he sees it. The quarterback is not the problem. He’s talented as (expletive) and you’re seeing it. Especially a young guy, doing it in the clutch like that, that’s a really good sign.”
Super Bowl window is wide open in Chicago, why not go for it
The Bears window for the Super Bowl is now. The majority of the roster is under contract and Williams being on a rookie contract makes it more manageable to spent a lot of money elsewhere on the roster. Chicago already has been realizing that and basically already has the entire offensive line locked up and lined up with that window.
It helps that the Bears are 11-4 and looking like a legit contender in the NFC too. Crosby wants to join a winning team with a winning culture. With Johnson at head coach and Williams at quarterback, the Bears have created that culture and are built to sustain it. A player like Crosby can be the difference of winning a Super Bowl or just being a playoff contender over the next 2-3 years. It never hurts to ask.
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