You might get tired of hearing Maxx Crosby’s name by the end of this week.
The NFL’s new league year and free agency period officially open on March 11, which means rumors are flying as to who will end up where. The rumors are hottest around defensive end Crosby, who has been a Las Vegas Raiders star since the team drafted him in the fourth round in 2019.
Raiders general manager John Spytek told reporters at the 2026 NFL Combine last week that he’s confident Crosby will stay in Vegas. On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter told The Pat McAfee Show that the Raiders will need “an offer that they can’t say no to” in order to move on from Crosby. Around the same time, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero threw out three teams that seem the most likely to do so.
“Who would be the teams that would make the most sense?” Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show. “Again, I think anybody who is a contender and has sufficient cap space or the ability to create it should be involved.” However, Pelissero specifically named the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears have been widely speculated as a suitor, but of course, the Cowboys always raise the most eyebrows.
“The one that everybody wants to keep talking about, and I do believe that it makes sense, is with the Cowboys,” Pelissero continued. “Maxx is from that area. He trains in the offseason with CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys have ammunition. They don’t have any Day 2 picks this year, but they’ve got two first-rounders. They’ve got enough cash and cap flexibility. [Owner] Jerry Jones has indicated that they’re going to be aggressive, and I believe a lot of that aggressiveness is going to be focused on the defensive side of the ball.”
The Cowboys traded away All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just before last year’s regular-season opener. At the Nov. 4 trade deadline, Dallas used a 2026 second-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith to acquire then-New York Jets All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
The Cowboys hold the No. 12 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after finishing 7-9-1, plus what would have been the Packers’ No. 20 overall pick from the Parsons trade.
Crosby, who will turn 29 in August, signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension with the Raiders last March. That’s a significant contract for any NFL team to take on, but Crosby’s production makes it much easier to stomach.
Crosby has 69.5 career sacks, including 10 sacks for the league-worst 3-14 Raiders in 2025. He also posted 28 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits before Las Vegas shut Crosby down for the season with two games remaining, much to his reported chagrin. He underwent knee surgery in early January, but he shared an encouraging update on his progress over the weekend.
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