The Las Vegas Raiders rotated three quarterbacks in 2025: Geno Smith, Kenny Pickett, and Aidan O’Connell. But none of it could stop the team from going 3-14. The five-time Pro Bowler defensive end Maxx Crosby watched every quarter of that disaster from across the ball and stayed put. But now, he’s watching a different kind of offseason unfold.

“We definitely got some more pieces coming as well,” Crosby said on The Rush podcast. “The draft is around the corner, which is exciting as well. But this time of the year, there’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of moving pieces. Unfortunately, I’ve been a part of a lot of those big overhauls and changes, but it’s always exciting and new. It’s just cool to be a part of something starting fresh and from the ground up.”

Crosby isn’t wrong. Las Vegas added center Tyler Linderbaum and guard Spencer Burford to fix a porous offensive line that allowed 37 sacks. They signed receiver Jalen Nailor, traded for cornerback Taron Johnson, and also rebuilt the linebacker room with Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, and Kwity Paye. These weren’t marquee moves, but targeted fixes to real problems.

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Crosby’s excitement around the offseason has another angle. The Raiders and Crosby had mutually decided to part ways after the 2025 season. A trade had even sent Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, but a failed physical caused Baltimore to back out of the trade just three days later. For Crosby, “starting fresh and from the ground up” could have had a whole new meaning if the trade had gone through.

Still, speaking of the offseason additions, the biggest one hasn’t arrived in Vegas yet. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza went 16-0 last season, threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, and won a national championship in 2025. The Raiders own the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Draft, and Mendoza visited the facility on April 7 (the same day voluntary workouts kicked off) to watch film with Kirk Cousins.

Cousins got there first and signed a five-year, $172 million deal. But that deal only pays $20 million in guarantees in 2026, and the Raiders are on the hook for just $11.3 million of it, while the Atlanta Falcons pay the rest out of their dead cap. Last season, stepping in for an injured Michael Penix Jr., Cousins went 5-3 as a starter and finished the year with 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five picks.

For the Raiders, who finished with just three wins, that’s a real floor to build off of. What’s more, they can’t push Mendoza into action right away. Head coach Klint Kubiak had made their plan explicit at the annual league meeting.

“Ideally, you don’t want him to start from day one,” Kubiak said. “You’d love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That’s in a perfect world.”

Cousins is that “somebody,” and the roster construction around him so far is what gives Maxx Crosby’s “more pieces coming” statement actual weight. And the first moment it all clicked into place for Crosby was when he ran into the new quarterback in the hallway.

Maxx Crosby on ‘Kirko Bangs’

Crosby has competed against Kirk Cousins (a.k.a Kirko Bangs) but never landed a sack on him. He has lined up across Cousins, rushed him, and even formed an opinion on the QB. And now it looks like he’s all in for his new quarterback.

“Today, I was leaving the building and ran into Kirko Bangs walking through the building. It was dope,” Crosby said on his podcast. “We had a great conversation. He was awesome. And so it definitely fired me up. A guy that I’ve competed against, and seeing what he’s done from afar for a long time. Dude has done a lot of great things in this league, and adding him to the squad is going to help a lot.”

Cousins had already matched that energy. Within hours of signing, he posted “The Autumn Wind…” on X, three words from the Raiders’ iconic 1974 NFL Films anthem. He also posted an Instagram video and addressed his new fanbase directly.

“Hey Raider Nation, this is Kirk Cousins, just signed today,” Cousins said. “It’s been exciting getting around the facility, meeting some of my new teammates. Thrilled to be able to wear the silver and black and be a part of the pride and tradition of the Raiders. Look forward to seeing you this fall at Allegiant Stadium.”

The instant read is that Cousins is a placeholder that can help Vegas stay afloat. But the Raiders didn’t lose 14 games because they lacked a star; they lost because no one could run a coherent offense across four quarters. Cousins won’t be there long-term. He’s just the quarterback who makes Mendoza’s transition from a national championship to a third-and-long in January a little less brutal. He has said it himself recently on Good Morning Football.

“I don’t want to start unless I’m the best option,” he said on the show. “I told Klint that the best players should play. But certainly, as long as that’s the case, I have no qualms with however it plays out. But I do think Fernando is going to be a great addition to our team. I think he’s going to have a great future in the league.”

Cousins had said something similar in Atlanta before Michael Penix Jr. took over. He signed here anyway. That tells you everything about how he sees this role. Meanwhile, Raiders owner Mark Davis isn’t selling Mendoza as a sure thing either.

“Having the first pick in the draft is exciting because we kind of control the draft – we get to make the decision on who we’re gonna pick,” Davis said. “But we’ve had that position before, and it didn’t work out. So there’s no magic bullet there, but it’s a great opportunity to get a great player, whoever they decide to pick.”

Davis was notably talking about JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in 2007, who went 7-18 as a starter and became the most expensive mistake for the Raiders. Davis had watched that decision implode firsthand.

Maxx Crosby has been in Las Vegas long enough to read the room. What’s in front of him now – a rebuilt line, a QB who knows his job, and a franchise passer coming at No. 1 – is the new blueprint. Crosby chose to stay because he had no other choice. But now, he’s on the ground floor of an exciting new rebuild.