3 trades to make the Detroit Lions championship contenders in 2023
Trade Proposal No. 2
Lions get: DE Maxx Crosby
Raiders get: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 second-round pick
As they seem to perpetually be, the Raiders are teetering between possibly being a good team or being an outright disaster this year with a full reset coming next year. There's talent on the roster, but probably not enough and on the management level the Raiders can't compete with the best in the NFL.
By the Oct. 31 trade deadline, which coincidentally comes the day after they play the Lions in Week 8 of Monday Night Football, the Raiders could be in full sell-mode. Davante Adams? Jimmy Garoppolo? Maxx Crosby?
Since coming in as a third-round pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2019, Crosby has been a force for the Raiders. He has not missed a game, and he has made back-to-back Pro Bowls. Last year he had a career-high 12.5 sacks, a career-best 89 total tackles and a league-high 22 tackles for loss as he finished sixth in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting.
According to Pro Football Focus, Crosby led NFL edge rushers with 25 quarterback pressures on play action--with the second-most rush opportunities on said plays. That speaks equally about his ability to recognize plays and his physical ability to close on the quarterback.
The most valuable edge defender since 2021, per PFF WAR
— PFF (@PFF) July 16, 2023
Maxx Crosby ☠️ pic.twitter.com/0cUAJH3ApR
With all due respect to who Crosby has had around him on the Raiders' defensive line, he has not had anyone with the capability and ceiling of Aidan Hutchinson across from him. The Lions could still use someone with his ability, durability and experience off the edge.
Crosby is not quite yet 26 years old (Aug. 22), and he's under contract through 2026. His cap hit for this year is a reasonable $12.97 million, before climbing after that. However, it becomes palatable to move on from him in 2025.
A trade for Crosby, however unlikely it is, would be a move done with an eye on now and the future since he's presumably got a lot of good years left. If the Raiders are motivated to unload his contract, maybe a relative discount could be had.