Maxx Crosby’s future is the only story worth caring about from NFL combine
· Yahoo Sports
With all due respect to the NFL's annual underwear Olympics, er, the NFL Scouting Combine, nothing that will happen in Indianapolis this week matters all that much in the grand scheme of things. Sorry to admit the truth to all of you diehard football heads out there who love tracking 40-yard dash times and three-cone results in a meticulously curated environment that doesn't always translate to on-field action.
Well, that is, unless you count talks concerning Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby's NFL future.
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It's starting to become more realistic that the 28-year-old perennial All-Pro pass-rusher finds a new home in the coming weeks. If a win-now player like Crosby and the rebuilding Raiders can't mend fences soon — Crosby was clearly irked by the Raiders' decision to shut him down during the stretch run of the 2025 season, among other things — then it becomes likely that Las Vegas will eventually make the hard decision to trade Crosby off. And if a trade does manifest, its genesis will likely happen behind the scenes in private, negotiative conversations between the Raiders and any NFL front offices interested in dealing for Crosby before the start of the 2026 league year in mid-March.
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On Monday, NFL media's Tom Pelissero addressed the Crosby Raiders situation and a possible trade as the pro football world descends on The Hoosier State:
It’s a big week for Maxx Crosby and the Raiders, who continue to discuss his future, as well as Daniel Jones and the Colts, who have eight days to strike a deal or potentially tag him. @gmfb@nflnetworkpic.twitter.com/EfztRoorlh
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 23, 2026
Hmm. Interesting. Here's the key segment of Pelissero's report in text:
“If there is a time to discuss a [Crosby] trade, it is this week here in Indianapolis. It is no secret that [Maxx] Crosby has been frustrated by the constant turnover and change in Las Vegas. Also, he is frustrated by the way last season ended when the Raiders shut him down with two games to go. … There are fences to be mended here, and everybody has to decide what the proper course of action moving forward. … I would expect Crosby’s representatives and the Raiders to meet. But also there could be a variety of different conversations with other teams about what a trade would look like.”
The mere fact that a Raiders trade of Crosby is posited by a prominent reporter affiliated with the NFL just made a deal here that much more feasible. By no means does this say that Crosby will definitely no longer be wearing silver and black come next September. You'd be surprised at how an NFL franchise and a star player can find ways to reconnect even when they're not on good terms. But Pelissero's picture of Crosby's frustration with the Raiders sounds more complicated than that.
To me, with it being noted that Crosby is specifically bothered by the Raiders starting over again, on top of his feeling that they tanked by sitting him at the end of 2025, this paints the picture of him trying to leave the Raiders. Someone close to Crosby almost certainly fed this line of thinking to Pelissero for a reason. You don't put that sort of information out there if you're keen on a long-term future with your current team.
We'll see whether another NFL team actually pulls the trigger with an attractive enough trade package for the star Raiders defender. And remember, if they do, it'll probably begin at the combine.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Maxx Crosby trade talks are only relevant story from 2026 NFL Combine