The Las Vegas Raiders have their new head coach in Klint Kubiak, and he’s putting together his coaching staff for the 2026 NFL season. Nonetheless, the elephant in the room for the Silver and Black remains speculation about Maxx Crosby.
Kubiak and the Raiders will likely need to sell Crosby on their vision for the rebuilding timeline. Nonetheless, if the Silver and Black will take two to three years to become contenders in the AFC, it might be best for all parties to part ways, and the Raiders secure more draft picks to aid their rebuild.
On the Feb. 13 edition of The Athletic Show, The Athletic’s Dave Helman gave a blunt perspective of how this situation will play out.
“It really feels like it’s going to come down to how good a job Klint can do selling Crosby on his vision for the Raiders and having a pathway to the No. 1 overall pick,” Helman said. “Drafting Fernando Mendoza may go a long way toward selling Crosby that he wants to be here for this. But it doesn’t feel that easy to me, like with the way they shut him down at the end of the season and how unhappy he clearly was about that.
“The amount of speculation that’s already been in place—really for like two years at this point—feels like it’s on Crosby to say, ‘All right, no, I see the vision, and I’m here for this, or yeah, this is the time.’ It makes sense with the contract. It makes sense where he is in his career. He’s still firmly in his prime, but it’s getting to the point where how many more years can you count on that?”
Insider Drops Latest on Maxx Crosby’s Raiders Future
On Feb. 12, Rapoport provided an update on Crosby and the timing of a potential trade, noting that the Raiders star is coming off an injury that prompted the team to shut him down at the end of last season.
“My understanding is this is something I discussed on Super Bowl Sunday, not a rumor, not an innuendo; he did have a meniscus repair, which, although relatively minor, is still measured in months, not weeks,” Rapoport said .
“What that means is it’s hard to imagine a team trading for Maxx Crosby without him being fully healthy and able to pass a physical, which probably moves his timeline closer to the draft or maybe before the season.”
Could Maxx Crosby Speculation Drag Out for a Few Months?
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network says the situation with Crosby could continue for some time. For those frustrated by the ongoing speculation, this saga appears far from over.
“The Raiders have to make their decision first about what they prefer to do, and then have conversations with Maxx Crosby to help potentially facilitate a trade in a way similar to what happened with Micah Parsons. This is a somewhat similar situation,” Garafolo said in a video posted on Feb. 12 .
“I think it’s going to take a little bit of time before this plays out around the scouting combine, with some conversations closer to the league year. Then, perhaps leading up to the draft, this could be something we’re talking about at length for the next couple of weeks, if not months. Buckle up and sit tight.”
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