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Defensive end Maxx Crosby (left) of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chicago Bears chose not to wow the Las Vegas Raiders with a monster trade offer for Maxx Crosby in March. But if the Bears’ front office has changed its opinion in the months since the deal that was supposed to send Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens collapsed, Chicago should have another reasonable shot at landing the five-time Pro Bowler.
Hondo Carpenter of ON SI reported last week that while not imminent by any stretch, there remains a distinct possibility of the Raiders dealing Crosby either in the coming summer months or ahead of the early November trade deadline.
“There is still enormous interest in the Raiders’ superstar,” Carpenter wrote June 15. “That doesn’t mean a deal is imminent, or that the team is shopping him, or that he is asking to be moved. It is simply the reality that, with the interest there to the extent it is, it makes it a viable potential subject.”
The Ravens offered two first-round picks for Crosby in early spring, which Las Vegas accepted. However, Baltimore then backed out of the deal citing a failed physical involving Crosby’s surgically-repaired knee.
The prevailing thinking around the NFL since is that Crosby’s value has probably declined in the interim, which would explain why the Raiders haven’t aggressively shopped him as they were previously — affording time for the waves Baltimore’s decision generated around Crosby’s trade value to recede into ripples and hoping that his improving health will restore some of that value.
Maxx Crosby Could Still Cost 2 First-Round Picks in Deal
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Monday, June 22 became one of the first football writers to take the leap that Crosby has regained his former juice.
Knox authored a trade proposal in which the Raiders get two first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, respectively, in return for Crosby and named the Bears and Dallas Cowboys his two top landing spots.
“In terms of talent alone, Las Vegas Raiders edge-rusher Maxx Crosby would be an easy pick for our No. 1 spot,” Knox wrote. “Any team interested in adding Crosby would, of course, have to be comfortable with his medical situation. It would probably also need to match Baltimore’s offer of two first-round picks.”
Bears’ Current Offseason Approach Doesn’t Point to Blockbuster Trade for Maxx Crosby
GettyLeft tackle Ozzy Trapilo of the Chicago Bears.
While the prospect of adding Crosby to what appears a formidably rebuilt secondary in Chicago is an exciting talking point, the Bears have shown a penchant for restraint this offseason rather than splash moves to vault themselves into the upper echelons of Super Bowl contention.
The franchise spent $40 million on safety Coby Bryant and $30 million on linebacker Devin Bush with no other major free agency plays of which to speak.
Despite losing left tackle Ozzy Trapilo to a ruptured patellar tendon in Round 1 of the playoffs, who was a rookie revelation at the crucial position down the stretch last season, Chicago has elected to approach the tackle spot with caution. The Bears re-signed Braxton Jones on a $5 million deal after benching him last season and added Jedrick Wills Jr. on a league-minimum contract.
Former Lions left tackle Taylor Decker, a 10-year starter and 2024 Pro Bowler who had a multiyear relationship with Bears head coach Ben Johnson in Detroit, remains a free agent. However, Trapilo could be back in the lineup by late 2026, so Chicago is playing a risk-reward game.
Bears Betting on Internal Development to Improve Poor Pass Rush
The Bears are apparently doing the same thing at the edge-rusher position, leaning on stalwart Montez Sweat, who produced 10 sacks last season, and betting on Austin Booker to break out in Year 3.
If Chicago does add a defensive end, it is more likely to take a one-year veteran flier on a player like Jadeveon Clowney or Joey Bosa to join a group that will also contain Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner when they return from injuries sustained in 2025.
That isn’t to say the Bears might not consider Crosby, as several national reporters connected Chicago to his trade conversation early in the offseason. However, if the team wasn’t interested in Crosby at the price of two first-rounders in March, it’s difficult to fashion the Bears spending like that on him now after the Baltimore debacle.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible