OK. It’s time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to trade for Maxx Crosby.

The Bucs are completely out of options when it comes to serious upgrades to the pass rush now that Trey Hendrickson has taken his talents to Charm City. It’s always made a bit of sense for the Buccaneers to trade for Crosby, but Hendrickson’s looming availability always made more sense due to the fact you’re not giving up significant, significant draft capital in order to acquire the former Cincinnati Bengal.

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. However, trading for Crosby wouldn’t be a move of total desperation when diving in and looking at the situation in its entirety.

Here’s how the Buccaneers trade for Maxx Crosby and why they should

Ok, so let’s go ahead and get the two first-round pick discussion out of the way.

The Buccaneers should absolutely be willing to give that up and it’s really simple: Jason Licht and Co. are not going to find a player who can impact the game like Crosby can at No. 15 in this year’s draft. If they do, it has to do with sheer luck more than anything else. That’s not taking anything away from what Licht and his scouts do, at all, it’s just how it is.

Secondly, the forfeited 2027 pick is likely to be in the 20s, and the mid-to-late 20s at that, if things work out like they’re supposed to. That’s a valid mindset to have and it should that of the Bucs.

These moves require educated bets, to an extent, and that’s one I’m certainly betting on if I’m the Buccaneers. Adding Crosby immediately puts them back into playoff contention and if the Bucs nail their Day 2 picks they’re cooking with gas.

Yes, two first-rounders is a hefty price to pay, but it’s more than worth it in this scenario and I’m the Ravens clearly felt the same before they backtracked. And let’s be real – Licht and Bowles might not even be here next year if the Bucs flounder again, so they need to get as much out of this offseason as they can.

Now, let’s talk contract details. Just like the draft compensation, Crosby’s contract is a heavy one, but the key with his deal is every single year is a high base salary. In fact, none of them go lower than the $26.5 million in base salary he’s set to make in 2028.

Crosby is due $30 million in base salary in 2026, along with a $782k roster bonus, bringing his cash totals and cap hit to $30.782 million for the acquiring team. That’s obviously an untenable situation for the Buccaneers, who currently have less than $15 million in cap room, but there’s an easy, and logical, way to turn that into a tenable deal.

A max restructure, while adding a void year to Crosby’s deal, would drop Crosby’s cap hit all the way down to $7.813 million in 2026. That includes a veteran minimum base salary of $1.30 million and the prorated $5.686 million that comes from the $28.7 million prorated over the four years of his deal, plus the void year.

If Licht doesn’t want to add a void year then Crosby’s cap hit jumps to $8.463 million in 2026 and $7,163,705 in prorated money gets spread out over the existing four years. Either way, it makes 2026 a very viable situation for both parties.

But what about future cash flows?

Everyone is always fixated on the salary cap and that’s reasonable, but cash is what really matters when it comes to NFL contracts. The rest is just accounting and posturing, mostly.

Right now, the Buccaneers sit at No. 22 in cash spending for 2026, but that doesn’t include Alex Anzalone’s nor Kenneth Gainwell’s deals. When cutting their deals in half and adding that to the tab, the Bucs jump to 14th in cash flow.

Adding Crosby’s $30.782 million into the mix would jump them all the way up to fifth. That’s a heck of a climb, but again, it’s one worth paying if the Buccaneers are serious about getting back on track this year.

Crosby’s future cash flows then jump the Bucs from 22nd to 15th in 2027, 21st to 17th in 2028, and 12th to 5th in 2029. The key with that is guys like Baker Mayfield, Cody Mauch, Emeka Egbuka, and others will be up for extensions, which require cash to move the needle. Crosby’s presence will certainly affect how those negotiations go, especially knowing how the Glazers operate.

However, other big deals could be off the books when those moments come. For instance, there’s no guarantee Chris Godwin and the $22 million he’s owed in cash in 2027 will be around, especially since it’s a team option. As the years progress, there will be other situations like that to consider, which will help alleviate Crosby’s number.

And, there are two more factors at play: The Bucs could always give Crosby another extension at some point if he’s playing well, which helps with everything, and, there’s an out with Crosby’s deal after 2027. If things were to go south and the Bucs were to part ways after just two years, they wouldn’t be on the hook for anything if were to leave his 2026 number as-is.

But, we know some kind of restructure is guaranteed if the Buccaneers acquire Crosby. So, if it’s a max restructure, it’d either be $14,282,500 in dead money for 2028 or $17,148,000 depending on the four- or five-year proration plan. The Bucs could also post-June 1 the release and spread either figure out over two years. Obviously, the dead money adjusts with whatever restructure happens, but the above amounts are what to expect if it’s a max restructure.

It’s an expensive contract, there’s no bones about it. But it’s a very manageable one that Licht could certainly work around in a feasible manner that doesn’t kill the Buccaneers’ overall spending power in 2026 or beyond.

And let’s just be frank, the Bucs need this kind of spark

The Buccaneers are in a tough spot, right now. They don’t have a ton of spending power (without restructures on their end) and they’re coming off a year that’s made the fanbase apathetic. That’s the worst kind of situation for a franchise to be in.

Not only would this reinvigorate the fanbase, it would reinvigorate a locker room that just lost Mike Evans. We saw the public reactions from Chris Godwin and Tristan Wirfs and I’d 100% bet everyone else feels the same. Combine that with the fact Lavonte David could be the next one to walk and man, we’re talking a total shift in tone and presence amongst Bucs leadership.

Bringing Crosby in would totally flip that on its head and make everything right. He’d immediately step in and become one of the top leaders on the team and everyone would feed off the intensity and passion he plays with on every snap.

And yes, there are risks involved. The Ravens clearly didn’t like what they saw, but there’s obviously more to that story. Regardless, Crosby turns 29 right before the season starts and is coming off knee surgery. There’s always an inherent gamble with that kind of situation.

At the same time however, Trey Hendrickson is 31 and coming off core muscle surgery, which is no joke in its own right. If the Buccaneers were willing to gamble on that, they should be willing to gamble on the younger player with the more impressive resume.

And again, it’s not like the Buccaneers are locked in with Crosby’s deal if things do go awry.

Like any expensive item that’s worth purchasing, there’s a large price tag involved. But what the product provides will change the Buccaneers’ current trajectory and the only way that doesn’t happen is through an uncontrollable circumstance, like injury.

That’s a deal Jason Licht has to make now that he’s out of options.

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