Feb. 18, 2026, 6:45 p.m. PT

The San Francisco 49ers would be wise to kick tires on a trade for Las Vegas Raiders superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby. They’d also be wise to stop kicking if the Raiders’ asking price doesn’t come down.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter joined 97.5 the Fanatic in Philadelphia on Wednesday and laid out an exorbitant asking price from the Raiders for their defensive leader. Schefter said the Raiders aren’t eager to deal Crosby, and that they’ll want a “Micah Parsons type” trade package if they do execute a deal.

“That’s what I was told,” Schefter said via Raiders Beat. “Do I think they are getting two firsts and a player? No. Do I think they want to trade him? No. Do I think he’ll be traded like AJ Brown? That’ll change by the week… Any deal involving Maxx Crosby, I would think for the Raiders to make that deal, would take a first-round pick at minimum.”

This isn’t an atypical stance for a team to take at this juncture. Las Vegas has no reason to make it clear they want to deal Crosby, and they may not want to unless a team drops a Godfather offer on the table.

On the other hand, as free agency and the NFL draft draw closer and the Raiders’ future comes more into focus, they’ll have a better idea of whether Crosby is part of that future. At that point the asking price could become more reasonable.

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While Crosby is an excellent player, he’s two years older than Parsons and is coming off a knee injury that required offseason surgery. Getting a Parsons deal for him doesn’t seem likely even if it is the current asking price.

For the 49ers, they’re not in a place they can afford to let go of a quality player and two picks to bring in Crosby. They do need high-level talent, but they also need to find that talent at an affordable rate via the draft. They also have too many holes to plug at other positions, and that number would increase by dishing out a player in a trade.

Their pass rush specifically needs help. However, 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams and Nick Bosa will both return at some point during the 2026 campaign. That duo with a draft pick or two and a lower-level trade or free agent signing should give them a lift without needing to give up the farm like they would at that price for Crosby.

If that price tag comes down the 49ers can go back to kicking those tires to see if they can pry the five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro away from the Raiders. Until that point, they should be focusing their efforts to bolster their pass rush on players who can come in at a more reasonable price.

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