There’s another major obstacle in the way of Bengals trading for Maxx Crosby aside from the obvious one
Crosby to Cincinnati makes sense in a fantasy world, but not the one the Bengals live in.
Despite signing a three-year, $106.5 million extension last year, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby to be on his way out of the desert. Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer made it known Wednesday he thinks Crosby is done playing with the Raiders, and will “probably” be off the team before the 2026 NFL Draft as the five-time Pro Bowler doesn’t want to go through another rebuild.
This was music to the ears of Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincinnati’s star receiving duo made it known on multiple Radio Row appearances following Glazer’s report they’d love for Crosby to join the Bengals this year. The team is in desperate need of proven defensive talent, and Crosby would be a definitive game-changer.
If you’ve been following Cincinnati for a while, you know why trading for Crosby is highly unlikely. Let’s start with the obvious reason.
Trading for Maxx Crosby will require early draft picks
The sheer cost of acquiring a player of Crosby’s caliber is already a non-starter. The Bengals don’t sacrifice their own draft picks, tokens to obtain cheap labor, in trades for players from other teams. Even in the rare circumstances in which these trades do unfold, ala trading for running back Khalil Herbert in 2024 and quarterback Joe Flacco last year, the picks involved are late-round picks. Cincinnati’s trades also typically involved pick-swaps instead of player-for-pick deals, so the club doesn’t actually lose the number of swings it can take in the draft.
Trading a first-round pick, two second-rounders, or comparable compensation for a player is never what you should expect from the Bengals. The value of paying players who COULD be nearly as good as Crosby low and pre-determined salaries will always outweigh acquiring proven talent with salaries that recognize their pedigrees.
But let’s say this case is different. Let’s say Crosby is the exception to the rule, and the Bengals would be willing to fork over one or two early draft picks, or work out a convoluted pick-swap, in order to land one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL with Trey Hendrickson about to make his own exit next month. The cost of trading for him goes beyond the trade itself.
Crosby’s contract has a hidden detail the Bengals won’t like
The one thing Cincinnati dislikes more than trading away draft picks is guaranteeing money after the first year of a multi-year contract. It’s why the club is letting Hendrickson walk next month after spending all last year trying negotiate an extension like Las Vegas was able to quickly get done with Crosby.
The Bengals wouldn’t have to negotiate a new contract for Crosby, who’s locked in through the 2029 season on his current deal, but they would be committing to paying him a large salary beyond 2026.
Crosby’s $29 million salary in 2027, the same amount of cash Hendrickson was paid in 2025, vests to fully guaranteed on Mar. 13, two days after the 2026 league year begins. If he’s on Cincy’s roster on that day, he’s guaranteed to earn his full salary the next year, months before he can even take a single snap in a Bengals uniform.
Only Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have ever been granted such guarantees in their contracts with the team. Cincinnati taking on that deal after already breaking a wild precedent in trading for such a player is a double dose of “don’t bet on it.”
Crosby would give the Bengals what they’ll desperately need once Hendrickson is out of the picture. He would free up a need in the 2026 NFL Draft, and with the personnel department already thinking about adding defensive linemen, he would be a wise use of the No. 10 pick they hold in the first round.
There’s simply too much evidence against them ever even considering such a move.
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