Every few weeks somebody floats Maxx Crosby into a trade rumor, and every few weeks Crosby says the same thing. The message has not changed since the offseason.
He wants to be a Raider. He is going to be a Raider.
The Rumors Will Not Die
The most recent round involved the Rams, who were connected to Crosby in early September. That one collapsed on inspection: the Rams never approached Crosby about a trade, and Crosby has made it known to interested teams that Las Vegas is the only place he wants to play.
Before that, the Cowboys made three separate offers. Dallas has been the most persistent suitor in the league, and it has gotten nowhere.
The most remarkable chapter came earlier, when the Raiders had actually agreed to send Crosby to Baltimore for two first-round picks before the Ravens backed out over an injury concern. Two first-rounders for a pass rusher is close to the ceiling of what any team pays, and it still fell apart.
The Raiders Are Not Shopping Him
This is the part that keeps getting lost. Las Vegas is not shopping Crosby, and Crosby is not asking out. The rumors are being generated by teams that want him and reporters who correctly note that a great player on a rebuilding roster is a logical trade candidate.
Logical does not mean happening. Crosby has been explicit with teams looking to acquire him that he only wants to play for the Raiders, and a player with that stance destroys the acquiring team’s leverage. Nobody trades two first-round picks for a player who will not sign an extension.
Why He Is Staying
Crosby’s value to Las Vegas goes past the sack numbers. He is the one player on that roster who sets a standard, and franchises in transition cannot afford to trade away the person their young players model themselves on.
There is also the matter of what the Raiders would actually do with the return. Draft capital only helps an organization that drafts well. Las Vegas has not consistently demonstrated that, which makes converting a top-five defensive player into lottery tickets a seriously risky proposition.
What This Says About The Market
The Crosby saga is a useful reminder that modern NFL trades require three parties to agree, and the player is one of them. A star with leverage and a clear preference can veto a deal without a no-trade clause simply by refusing to extend.
Joey Porter Jr. is currently proving the opposite case in Pittsburgh, where a player who wants out is stuck because his team’s asking price is too high. Crosby is stuck in place because he wants to be.
The Verdict
Stop reading the rumors. Crosby finishes this season in Las Vegas, and probably the next several. The Ravens deal was the one realistic scenario and it died on a medical review.
Everything since has been noise generated by contenders who would love to have him and have no path to getting him.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.