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Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty.
The trade rumors surrounding Maxx Crosby have only been getting louder as teams get deeper in the offseason. The Las Vegas Raiders don’t seem overly eager to trade their best player, but it’s a talking point, nonetheless.
Crosby has become the face of the franchise over the years and is considered one of their strongest leaders. However, he’s had to deal with a lot of losing in his career.
The Raiders are in a rebuild, but there’s no guarantee that trading Crosby ends up making them better in the long run. In hindsight, the team likely doesn’t trade Khalil Mack in 2018 with the knowledge of what they ended up getting (Josh Jacobs, Damon Arnette and Bryan Edwards).
Running back Ashton Jeanty has grown close with Crosby, but they’ve only had a chance to play one season together. He’s hoping the Raiders don’t move the All-Pro pass rusher.
“I mean, it’s very important,” Jeanty told Heavy Sports when asked how important it was for Crosby to stay with the Raiders amid trade talks. “Obviously, he’s been a staple of the organization for a long time. He’s an amazing player and person. I don’t know anything behind the talks or anything like that. But obviously, I don’t control any of that.”
Crosby Has Yet to Publicly Request Trade
Crosby has enough respect for the Raiders and the fan base that he’d likely keep any trade request private. The team would still be able to listen to trade offers without having to deal with the media circus.
That doesn’t mean he hasn’t quietly told the Raiders that he wants to be moved. It’s entirely possible that’s the case. That doesn’t mean Las Vegas would grant his request, but it’s going to be a situation to watch in the coming weeks.
Things Could Come to a Head at Combine
The NFL offseason doesn’t really start to heat up until the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. That’s when all of the executives and coaches around the league are all in the same place.
General manager John Spytek is going to be a very popular person. The Athletic named the hottest topic for each team heading into the combine, and Ted Nguyen believes it’s the Crosby trade talks.
“Will the Raiders trade Maxx Crosby? As trade rumors swirl around the Raiders best player, the combine is when the Raiders and interested parties should get a better idea of whether it’s actually feasible and how willing the Raiders are to come down from their high asking price,” Nguyen wrote. “Reportedly, the Raiders want the Micah Parsons deal, which included two first-round picks and an impact player. Crosby is already on a relatively friendly contract (sixth-highest average salary per year among edge rushers) and won’t need to reset the market like Parsons did after getting traded to the Packers. But Parsons is the better, younger player.”
If Crosby does get traded, it’s likely that a lot of those talks started heating up during the combine. Either way, where the Raiders stand on trading Crosby should become more apparent soon.
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd
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