Myles Garrett's decision to request a trade away from the Browns has caused shockwaves to reverberate across the NFL landscape. The dominant edge rusher's demand could easily pave the way for the Green Bay Packers to finally solve their issues at defensive end.
Yes, the Packers could be one of many teams interested in completing a deal with Cleveland to land Garrett. It's far more likely that Green Bay will look to take advantage of Garrett's request by shopping for a sack artist with a slightly lower price tag. Raiders star Maxx Crosby fits that description and coordinator Jeff Hafley's scheme perfectly.
Officials in Las Vegas will be disappointed by Garrett's public request. They do not want to deal Crosby but if he does agitate for a move it may force their hand. The Raiders will want to extract every ounce of value in a Crosby trade if they are forced to go that route. Garrett entering the market means Crosby will no longer be the No. 1 option for teams shopping for pass rushing help via a trade.
The Packers can leverage Myles Garrett into Maxx Crosby
The Packers desperately need a No. 1 edge rusher to pair with Rashan Gary. Crosby is just the sort of big-bodied, productive end that head coach Matt LaFleur seems to prefer. Josh Jacobs is a former teammate of Crosby and has hinted that he'd like to recruit some talent to Green Bay in the offseason. It's not hard to connect the dots and project Crosby as a potential trade target for the Packers.
It's almost certain that Green Bay will need to offer up this year's first round pick to land a difference-making defender like Crosby. The question GM Brian Gutekunst and his staff need to ponder is how much else they'd need to offer in a trade. It's conceivable that the Raiders might want to secure Green Bay's 2026 first-rounder as well. That could be too expensive for a Packers team that prefers to build through the draft.
The one certainty in this situation is that the Raiders lost serious leverage the moment Garrett's trade request went public. Their market for Crosby will be strongly influenced by what the Browns are able to garner in any deal for their top defender.