‘He’s one of the best in the league right now’ – Colts’ head coach praised a star player that the team should now try to trade for
Colts coach should take his own words to heart and trade for one of the top defensive players in the NFL
The Indianapolis Colts improved to 4-1 in Week 5 of the NFL season with a dominant performance against the Las Vegas Raiders. The team won convincingly, 40-6. Following the game, head coach Shane Steichen had quite a compliment to share about Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
“He’s (Crosby) one of the best in the league right now,” said Steichen.
Steichen shared that the Colts, like every team that plays the Raiders, made Crosby a key point of emphasis in their overall plan for the week.
“Our thing going into this game, which I’m sure every opponent that plays the Raiders, is stop 98 (Crosby),” and the team did a solid job doing so. The Colts held Crosby to three total tackles on the day and, more importantly, zero sacks. Now that they accomplished their mission of limiting Crosby in this game, I think they should move on to a new mission: trading for the star pass rusher.
Maxx Crosby’s NFL career facts
- 7-year NFL career to date, all with the Raiders
- 61.5 career sacks
- 4X Pro Bowler
If Maxx Crosby becomes available, the Colts should consider trading for the Raiders’ star pass rusher
The Raiders are now 1-4 and have lost four consecutive games. This loss especially feels like a rock-bottom moment, though, due to how outmatched they looked throughout the game. This type of loss can cause frustration to build in a locker room, and it can lead star players to request a trade to a team that has a better chance of winning.
If that becomes the reality for the Raiders and Crosby, the Colts should pick up the phone and try to acquire the four-time Pro Bowler.
The Colts don’t typically make a massive swing like that, but there are a couple of reasons why this season feels different. This offseason, the Colts were linked to two big names on the trade market. The first being Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. The Colts were reportedly one of the most aggressive teams pursuing a trade for the 2024 sack leader. I still believe if the Bengals had chosen to trade him ahead of the season, he would have been a Colt.
The second player is former Dallas Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who was traded to the Green Bay Packers. The Colts were one of a handful of teams to make a call to the Cowboys expressing interest. That may not sound notable to some, but to me, that’s two star edge rushers the Colts seriously considered trading for.
So, if Crosby, whom Steichen himself called “one of the best in the league right now,” is available, there would be a decent chance that the Colts would be one of the most aggressive suitors to enter that race. With the team at 4-1 and having one of the NFL’s top offenses so far this year, making a win-now move to upgrade its defense makes sense.
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