It’s no secret that several teams checked in with John Spytek about the possibility of trading for Maxx Crosby at the NFL Scouting Combine a year ago. Nothing materialized at the time. But fast forward to now, and the Las Vegas Raiders’ general manager is once again hearing interest around Crosby. Only this time, the buzz appears to be even stronger. And while the situation is still developing, recent reports suggest Crosby’s time in Vegas may be nearing its end.

“Sources: Teams in the trade market have gotten the sense that the #Raiders are more open to the idea of trading Maxx Crosby, and it’s a situation that is only going to intensify,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported on Thursday.

Crosby’s trade rumors began circulating when the Raiders shut him down in December 2025 for the final two games of the regular season. Frustrated by the decision, Crosby ultimately left the building.

As for the Raiders, the outcome worked in their favor. The team finished the year 3–14 and secured the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Now the Raiders appear to be entering a full rebuild. And if projections hold, that rebuild could begin with selecting quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick. But moving in that direction might also mean parting ways with the team’s best defender, and arguably its best overall player, in Crosby.

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Before diving into potential landing spots, though, it’s worth understanding why the star edge rusher might want out of Vegas in the first place. The reasons are many. But they’re fairly straightforward.

Crosby is firmly in his prime and widely regarded as one of the league’s top pass rushers. What he hasn’t experienced in Las Vegas, however, is sustained success.

In seven seasons, the 28-year-old has just one playoff appearance. And on top of that, he’s been forced to adapt to constant organizational turnover. Most recently, the Raiders brought in Pete Carroll as head coach and Spytek as general manager.

Together, they hired Chip Kelly and made him the league’s highest-paid offensive coordinator, reportedly paying him $18 million over three years. But the instability didn’t stop there. The Raiders eventually fired Kelly, and Carroll’s tenure also came to an end.

Looking at the bigger picture only highlights the instability Crosby has played through. If we include Rich Bisaccia, who stepped in as interim head coach for the final three months of the 2021 season after Jon Gruden resigned, Crosby has already played under five head coaches. Klint Kubiak would become his sixth.

So when you take all of that into account, Crosby’s reported desire to leave Las Vegas feels less like a surprise and more like the result of years of frustration. And it’s frustration he hasn’t always voiced publicly, largely out of respect for the Raiders’ fanbase.

That brings us to the obvious next question: if the Raiders do move Crosby, where could he land? For now, two teams have consistently surfaced as potential suitors: the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys.

Chicago presents an interesting scenario. For one, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams reportedly shares a close relationship with Crosby. Beyond that, the franchise has already shown a willingness to swing big for elite pass rushers. The last time they did it, they traded for Khalil Mack.

And with Ben Johnson’s team looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, adding another dominant edge rusher in 2026 could make plenty of sense.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, might have an even more pressing need. Dallas has been searching for defensive reinforcements ever since trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers last year.

Jerry Jones has already started reshaping the defensive structure. He brought in Christian Parker to replace Matt Eberflus and made several coaching adjustments along the way. The next step could involve major roster moves.

Dallas also holds significant draft capital, including two first-round picks. And after fielding one of the worst defenses in the league during the 2025 season, a move for Crosby wouldn’t exactly come out of nowhere. The real question is whether the Cowboys would be willing to meet the price.

Because if the Raiders decide to move Crosby, the asking price won’t be cheap. In fact, it could resemble the type of compensation Dallas demanded when it traded Parsons.

Schultz has already indicated that teams around the league believe the Raiders are open to the idea of trading Crosby. Whether that ultimately turns into a deal, however, remains to be seen.

What’s clear, though, is that ever since Crosby was shut down during the final stretch of the regular season, the speculation around his future has only continued to grow.

Albert Breer discussed Tom Brady’s role in Maxx Crosby’s shutting down

Maxx Crosby wrapped up the 2025 season with 10 sacks, 45 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and one interception. The only catch is that those numbers came in just 15 games. The 28-year-old never got the chance to finish the season, as the Raiders shut him down for the final two games.

Now, speaking with Rich Eisen, NFL insider Albert Breer shed more light on it. According to Breer, Crosby wanted to play the final two games. But the bigger issue, apparently, was the communication surrounding that decision, particularly involving the team’s minority owner, Tom Brady, and the team’s wellness coordinator, Alex Guerrero.

“They made the decision they were going to shut him down,” Breer told Rich Eisen. “He (Crosby) didn’t like that. He went and sought a couple of outside opinions on the knee, and those doctors outside the organization told him he wasn’t perfect, but he’d be okay to play out the last couple of weeks of the season. And it was communicated to him that wasn’t gonna happen. And the communication issue is there, I think, as much as anything else was more of a Tom Brady, Alex Guerrero thing. So, that’s where the disconnects come with Crosby.”

Reports suggest Crosby’s frustration wasn’t just about being shut down. It was also about Guerrero’s influence inside the building. Guerrero, who frequently attends practices and meetings, is believed to hold considerable sway within the organization.

Players are reportedly informed about potential roster moves through him. And there have even been claims that staff members who don’t follow his direction are warned about their job security.

Guerrero is widely seen as having a direct line to Brady, who lives in Florida. That setup naturally limits Brady’s day-to-day presence with the team in Las Vegas, which has only added another layer to the internal dynamics.

As a result, points indicate there are growing trust issues within the Raiders’ facility in Henderson, Nevada. And the situation has quietly fueled speculation around Crosby’s relationship with the Raiders’ leadership, particularly with Brady, whose involvement in the shutdown decision appears to have created a clear disconnect with the star pass rusher.

The reasoning may have been tied to protecting Crosby’s health and the Raiders’ intention for the No. 1 overall pick. But the fallout from that decision has only intensified the trade speculation surrounding the star pass rusher. Where he ultimately lands, though, remains the bigger question.