Why the Bears are back in the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes despite the price remaining high and with even greater risk involved
The latest events involving Maxx Crosby just put the Cardiac Bears back in the race.
The NFL world just turned on its head over the last 12 hours with the latest events involving Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
On Friday, the Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a trade that would send Crosby to the Ravens in exchange for two first-round picks. In the days that followed, the Raiders were big spenders signing new free agents to the roster while the Ravens lost multiple former players on the market.
Things took a drastic turn late on Tuesday when the Ravens backed out of the trade after failing Crosby’s physical and believing the injury-risk was too high for the trade cost. It’s worth noting that Crosby had meniscus surgery after the 2025 season and trades cannot be official until 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It’s a move of bad faith by Baltimore, but the rules can’t prevent it now.
And so, Crosby reverts back to Las Vegas while the Ravens moved quickly to find their new impact edge rusher after signing Trey Hendrickson on Wednesday morning. Where does this all leave us? Well, for starters, Crosby is back as a trade option for other teams, including the Chicago Bears.
Maxx Crosby is back on the menu for the Chicago Bears but he won’t be any cheaper
The Bears initially kicked the tires on trading for Crosby before the deal was made between the Raiders and Ravens. Chicago ultimately balked at the price the Raiders were asking and weren’t even mentioned as one of the final teams in contention. That doesn’t mean they won’t get back in the action this time around.
The problem is, the Raiders won’t be lowering the price like many expected. At least, that’s the current stance the team is taking right now.
“Teams that are interested in Maxx Crosby believe the Raiders aren’t going to come off their asking price of two first-round picks at this time,” Dianna Russini reported Wednesday morning.
To me, the Raiders are trying to keep full leverage in this situation. They’re also saying that they are willing to keep Crosby and have him on the roster for 2026 if another team doesn’t meet the high demands they’re asking for. Fortunately for Chicago, most teams have moved on and made other deals in free agency after missing out on Crosby which lowers the competition.
How the Bears can still make a Maxx Crosby trade work even after free agent spending
Through the first two days of free agency, the Bears only made two solid-priced signings in safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush along with a slew of low-level depth additions and re-signings. Even still, the Bears currently have $8,051,499 in available cap space, a number that doesn’t include the new numbers for Bush, Cam Lewis, and Kentavius Street.
That means the Bears will have to create some space before even thinking about adding Crosby, or any other high-priced signing. Chicago has a few ways to do so including restructures for players like Montez Sweat and Kyler Gordon or an extension with Cole Kmet to lower his 2026 hit.
After acquiring Crosby, the Bears (or whichever team makes a trade) can do a simple salary restructure his contract to lower his 2026 cap hit from $30.7 million down to $7.73 million.
Money, however, isn’t the real issue here in the eyes of general manager Ryan Poles. If the Raiders are indeed still asking for two first-round picks in return, the Bears should instead look to the draft to acquire an impact edge rusher. But, if trade return demands drop closer to Friday (when $29 million of Crosby’s deal becomes fully guaranteed for 2027) the Cardiac Bears could strike again.
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