Maxx Crosby is at Raiders OTAs again but won’t practice.
Here he is warming up alongside his teammates.
Getty
Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby.
Even after months of speculation, the Chicago Bears still can’t seem to escape the Maxx Crosby conversation.
The Las Vegas Raiders star edge-rusher was once heavily tied to Chicago earlier this offseason. Now, multiple analysts are once again floating the Bears as a logical landing spot for the four-time Pro Bowler.
With OTAs underway and questions still lingering around Chicago’s pass rush, the idea of Ryan Poles making one more blockbuster swing refuses to go away.
FanSided’s Jake Beckman recently argued the Bears should still aggressively pursue Crosby, writing that Chicago entered both free agency and the NFL Draft needing “a real and dominant defensive end” and still failed to address the issue in a major way.
Meanwhile, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport also connected Crosby to the Bears in a proposed trade package involving a 2027 first-round pick and 2028 second-round pick.
While no deal appears imminent, the continued chatter says plenty about where many around the league believe Chicago’s biggest remaining weakness still exists.
For all the excitement surrounding Ben Johnson’s year one and the revamped offense around Caleb Williams, the Bears’ defensive front remains one of the biggest question marks on the roster.
Chicago finished near the bottom of the NFL in pass-rush efficiency last season, posting just a 29 percent pass-rush win rate according to ESPN. The Bears also averaged only 2.1 sacks per game, which tied for 21st in the league.
Maxx Crosby is at Raiders OTAs again but won’t practice.
Here he is warming up alongside his teammates.
Despite those struggles, the team largely avoided making a major splash at edge-rusher during either free agency or the draft, leading many analysts to wonder if Poles still has another move coming.
That is why Crosby continues to make sense on paper.
Even after undergoing knee surgery, Crosby is still widely viewed as one of the NFL’s elite defensive playmakers when healthy. Davenport noted that Chicago’s Super Bowl aspirations could justify sacrificing future draft capital, especially considering the Bears already possess one of the league’s younger offensive cores.
The timing is also interesting. If Crosby returns healthy and productive early in the season, his value could skyrocket again.
Of course, actually pulling off a deal is far easier said than done.
The Raiders reportedly explored moving Crosby earlier in the offseason before ultimately keeping him, and the organization still publicly views him as a foundational piece. Crosby himself has repeatedly expressed a desire to remain with the franchise long term.
There is also the cost.
A package involving premium draft picks plus a likely contract extension for Crosby would be a massive investment for Chicago. Some around the league remain hesitant to move 2027 first-round picks because of how strong that draft class is expected to be.
Still, the Bears remain one of the few teams with both the urgency and roster timeline to justify an aggressive move.
Whether anything materializes remains to be seen. However, as long as Chicago’s edge-rusher concerns linger, the Maxx Crosby rumors probably are not disappearing anytime soon.
Dylan Tracy-Lindenbaum Dylan Tracy-Lindenbaum is a Content Programming Assistant with the NFL and college football, NFL and MLB reporter for Heavy Sports. He has also worked with FOX Sports, the Big Ten Network, and RotoWire. More about Dylan Tracy-Lindenbaum
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