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(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Any team that believes it is on the verge of winning the Super Bowl will likely be at least checking in on Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby. The veteran is at the center of trade speculation, but the question is whether any interested team is willing to part with draft picks for him.
One team that’s currently in a window to win now is the Baltimore Ravens, given that Lamar Jackson is 29 and entering his 30s. As a result, they need to win now, but NBC NFL insider Mike Florio doesn’t see them giving in to the Raiders’ draft-pick demands.
“With Maxx Crosby, I don’t know,” Florio said on the Feb. 18 edition of the “Ryan Ripken Show.” “The Ravens put a premium on those draft picks because a draft pick is the ability to pick a guy that you have scouted that you’re confident is going to develop into a great player and have him under contract.
“If it’s a first‑round pick for five years and maybe a sixth with the franchise tag, if it comes to it, it’s hard to give up that opportunity to get a guy who can grow into becoming a great player at a cheap cash and cap amount.”
Bears Insider Doesn’t See Maxx Crosby Heading to Chicago
While there’s so much speculation surrounding Crosby, insiders don’t appear convinced that any team is willing to pay the draft picks needed to secure the Raiders star. Another team in the speculation mill is the Chicago Bears.
Bears reporter for ESPN Chicago, Courtney Cronin, doesn’t believe that the team is willing to make this type of move this offseason, despite the Bears falling one game short of the NFC title game this past season.
“I don’t know if the Bears view themselves as, ‘We are just one elite pass rusher away from winning a Super Bowl,‘ when the draft class is as loaded with defensive talent as it is,“ Cronin said on Feb. 19 during an appearance on “UNSPORTSMANLIKE.”
“Because that would be a very expensive cost, because not only in Barnwell’s piece, he predicted that they’d have to give up their 2026 first-round pick to get Maxx Crosby, and DJ Moore would be going to the Raiders, and then I believe it was a fifth-round pick in ’27 coming back.”
Bears Might Not Be Ready to Commit for Maxx Crosby Move
Cronin also noted the economic side as a major obstacle for Chicago, which needs to get its salary cap situation figured out before even considering a major financial commitment to Crosby.
“You’re on the hook for $61 million of Maxx Crosby’s salary in 2026 and 2027,“ Cronin added. “They’re $10 million over the cap right now. They’ve got a lot of work they have to do financially to be able to afford things.
“Would he be an immediate upgrade over what they had on the defensive line? Absolutely. But I don’t think that this has as many legs as people want to infer, just based on the fact that the two were seen very comfortably engaging with each other.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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