Lions may have a unique recruiter to help pry Maxx Crosby from the Raiders

Amid all the talk about Davante Adams being traded, before he was, Maxx Crosby was committed to the Las Vegas Raiders and comments from owner Mark Davis backed up the idea Crosby won't be traded. But he opened the door to leaving ever so slightly this past week. The sheer quote is one thing, but his facial expression is also important.

The Raiders, quite frankly, should be trade deadline sellers. They can and should have a high asking price for Crosby, but the prospect of a big return has to be tantalizing. Some questions are: What would someone give up? How much of Crosby's remaining money would the Raiders pay? Would he ask for a trade between now and the Nov. 5 deadline?

With how much general manager Brad Holmes values draft capital (as well he should), the Lions are unlikely to pony up what it would take to get Crosby from the Raiders.

But if the Lions need an extra edge in any possible pursuit of Crosby, beyond his ties to the state of Michigan and his expressed affinity for what they've got got going on, they seem to have one.

Former Lions player could recruit Maxx Crosby to Detroit

Lions radio sideline reporter T.J. Lang, who also played for the team, shares a college alma mater with Crosby (Eastern Michigan) and the two have a close relationship.

On Friday's episode of "The Mike Valenti Show with Rico" on 97.1 The Ticket, Lang didn't exactly deny that he may be talking to Crosby about the prospect of being traded to the Lions.

Valenti then prodded Lang a little more about going all-out to recruit Crosby to Detroit.

Lang later went to Twitter to say he wants what's best for Crosby (with admitted Lions' bias on that front), but he obviously would never tell Crosby what to do.

The odds Crosby gets traded to the Lions are very remote until further notice, on all kinds of fronts. But such as he may ever ask Lang about what living in Detroit is like, or what the team is like behind the scenes, the Lions have a little recruiting edge over other potential trade suitors.