Maxx Crosby was frustrated with how last season ended. The Las Vegas Raiders went 3-14, and the team shut him down for the final two games after placing the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end on injured reserve with a knee injury that needed surgery. While the Raiders tumbled toward the No. 1 pick, Crosby kept posting videos of himself playing basketball and jumping on a trampoline, seemingly unconcerned with the franchise\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n
The Athletic\u2019s Deanna Russini reported that the situation had soured Crosby\u2019s relationship with the Raiders and that the team was expected to be open to trading him this offseason. Reports also surfaced that Crosby told minority owner Tom Brady he wouldn\u2019t play for the Raiders again, which would likely spark strong interest around the league if he were made available.<\/p>\n
There are signs the two sides may be patching things up. After the Raiders dismissed their head coach last month, Crosby publicly praised his coach, and he has already met the team\u2019s new leader, Clint Kubiak. Kubiak \u2014 who was introduced as the Raiders\u2019 head coach on Tuesday after a dominant win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX \u2014 said he met Crosby for coffee that morning. \u201cI loved talking to him and I look forward to continuing the conversation,\u201d Kubiak said, noting Crosby was the first player training that morning and that his work ethic was motivating.<\/p>\n
Asked how crucial it would be for Crosby to buy into his vision immediately, Kubiak was unequivocal: \u201cWe want him to be part of our future success. There\u2019s no question about it. He\u2019s one of the best players in the NFL. So it\u2019s a no-brainer to work with Max and see him continue to be successful with this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension with the Raiders last year \u2014 at the time the largest deal ever for a non-quarterback \u2014 though that distinction has since been eclipsed. A fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2019, Crosby has spent seven seasons with the franchise (they were still in Oakland when they drafted him) and has posted at least 10 sacks in a season four times, including in 2025 despite his year ending early.<\/p>\n
Fan Take: This matters because Crosby is one of the league\u2019s premier pass rushers, and whether he stays in Las Vegas or gets traded will reshape contenders\u2019 pass-rush plans and defensive strategies. If he remains and buys into the new coach\u2019s vision, the Raiders instantly become more competitive; if he\u2019s dealt, the ripple effects could alter the balance of power across the NFL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maxx Crosby was frustrated with how last season ended. The Las Vegas Raiders went 3-14, and the team shut him down for the final two games after placing the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end on injured reserve with a knee injury that needed surgery. While the Raiders tumbled toward the No. 1 pick, Crosby kept […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[859],"tags":[860],"class_list":{"0":"post-42695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}