Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Raiders are in full rebuild mode after selecting a quarterback with the top pick this year.
- The Philadelphia Eagles could help the Raiders rebuild by trading for Maxx Crosby at a premium price tag.
- The deal could give the Raiders immediate help while allowing them to target high-upside replacements in future drafts.
The Las Vegas Raiders already traded Maxx Crosby once this offseason. The trade didn't end up going through and Crosby returned to Vegas, with the team seemingly content after that failed trade to just...keep Crosby? That seems like a silly idea, right? He doesn't fit the current timeline for the Raiders and it's unlikely he ever has more trade value than he has now.
And after the Los Angeles Rams traded for Myles Garrett, there should be motivation for another NFC contender to pony up what it takes to get a deal done. That team? The Philadelphia Eagles.
Proposed Eagles-Raiders trade for Maxx Crosby
Back in March, Christopher Kline proposed a deal in which the Eagles would give up their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks for Crosby. It seemed like a good deal at the time — it mirrored the deal Baltimore made and then later voided — but it didn't happen, and the 2026 NFL Draft has now come and gone.
The Eagles have seen what the Garrett trade looked like and the Raiders obviously have as well, so a revised version of a Crosby to the Eagles deal would look a little more like that. Instead of multiple firsts, it's a first, a second and a player who can contribute in Vegas.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd argue that the player Vegas gets in this deal isn't quite as high-upside as Jared Verse, who the Browns got from the Rams. Cleveland also got a third-round pick in their deal that the Raiders don't get here, simply because Garrett had better trade value. Still, something like this might get things done, right?
Jalen Carter and the Eagles have yet to come to terms on a contract extension, and while Carter doesn't have the same long-term ceiling as Verse, he still makes a lot of sense for the Raiders and would be a huge get for their defense.
Why the Raiders accept this trade
Why should the Raiders trade one of the NFL's top edge rushers? Because they're coming off a season where they were the NFL's worst team and just spent the No. 1 overall pick on a quarterback to officially start the team's rebuild. Crosby, meanwhile, is about to turn 29 and simply doesn't fit the team's needs at the moment. This is the best chance to get something of real value for him.
The original trade to the Ravens brought back a pair of firsts. This one replaces one of those with a second and Jalen Carter, which I think might be persuasive for the Raiders. This team is rebuilding, yes, but I'd also imagine they don't view the rebuild as something that should take forever, assuming Fernando Mendoza is able to show he can be a viable NFL quarterback. So, getting a 25-year-old defensive tackle with two Pro Bowls under his belt makes a lot of sense here. Instead of the mystery of another future first, you get a guaranteed high-end starter on the defensive line.
And you still have chances to grab high-upside players with those draft picks to replace Crosby on the edge, though it'd be more likely that the Raiders own first next year will be high enough to go after a blue-chip pass rusher and that the two Eagles picks can help fill other holes. Maybe that (presumably) late first from Philly could turn into someone like Arizona State wide receiver Miller or Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver?
The Raiders need to embrace the rebuild, but the Rams-Browns trade was a blueprint for how you can do that by making a trade that involves a good, young player, not just draft picks. Vegas should follow that path in any potential deal with the Eagles.
Add us as a preferred source on Google