ESPN Projects Bears Get Maxx Crosby In Trade — And Why It's Unrealistic

The topic has been discussed for months. Maxx Crosby seems to have reached the end of his tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s tired of losing and doesn’t want to endure another rebuild under a new coaching staff. At 29 years old, his window to chase a championship is closing. All expect him to demand a trade elsewhere, preferably to a winner. That is where the Chicago Bears come in. They’re fresh off an impressive playoff run, winning the division and coming an overtime away from the NFC Championship. They need one more push to get over the hump, and getting a dynamic pass rusher would be the goal.

Some aren’t convinced it’s possible. Bears general manager Ryan Poles isn’t known for ultra-aggressive moves like that. He prefers a more measured approach, keeping the team’s long-term prospects healthy. However, Bill Barnwell of ESPN believes there is an avenue forward that would help prevent them from mortgaging the future as they had to with Khalil Mack eight years ago. It involves a 1st round pick and surrendering one of the 2025 season’s biggest heroes.

Raiders get: WR DJ Moore, 2026 first-round pick

Bears get: Edge Maxx Crosby, 2027 fifth-round pick

The Bears have the 25th pick, and GM Ryan Poles hasn’t been shy about using draft picks to add talent. Some of those moves have worked out better (Joe Thuney) than others (Chase Claypool). Montez Sweat lands somewhere in the middle as a solid, Pro Bowl-ceiling player who is getting paid to be a superstar edge rusher. He had 10 sacks last season, but the Bears were still only 29th in sack rate while blitzing at a rate just above league average…

…The Raiders, meanwhile, need to add help at wide receiver for presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. Speedy flanker Tre Tucker profiles as a secondary option, while 2025 draft picks Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. failed to impress in their rookie seasons, racking up a combined 42 catches for 445 yards. Klint Kubiak should lean into 12 personnel with Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, but Vegas still needs a starting-caliber wideout.

That trade for Maxx Crosby would be great, but it is unrealistic.

The basic parameters make sense. Neither team sacrifices too much in the money department. Moore and Crosby are on relatively similar deals. They’re also close in age. Las Vegas would be sending the pass rusher to the NFC, so they wouldn’t have to see him much. There is no question that Moore would instantly become the most accomplished receiver the Raiders have on the depth chart. He already has experience catching passes from a rookie #1 overall pick, so he’d know how to handle Fernando Mendoza.

Where all of this falls apart is the assumption that Moore would have much appeal to Las Vegas. Yes, he’s a big name, but this isn’t the player from two years ago. Moore’s production has declined considerably over the past two seasons. He went from 966 yards to 682 last year. You could argue part of that was having to share the ball with other players like Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the Raiders will care much about that. Moore’s value has depreciated despite his strong playoff run.

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There is one other possibility the Raiders would go for.

On the other hand, the conversation would shift if, say, Odunze were put in the package. He has two cheap years left on his rookie contract and has proven he is productive when healthy. The problem is the Bears won’t do that because Odunze is a favorite of Caleb Williams and a much more long-term option. Thus, we’re back to the original issue. Unless somebody inside the Raiders building believes Moore still has some really good seasons left in him, the odds of them accepting just him, a 1st, and a 3rd for one of the top pass rushers in football would be unexpected.

If that’s the price, the Bears should absolutely do it. They can survive one year without a 1st round pick and Poles hasn’t picked good players in the 3rd since he took over. Odunze and Luther Burden can handle added targets in the passing game. By contrast, Maxx Crosby gives the defense some real teeth up front for the first time since Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks were in Chicago. Anything is possible.