Why 1 'Fairytale' Trade Involving Raiders Is Bogus

The Las Vegas Raiders must consider nearly any and all options to improve their roster as quickly as possible.

One Crazy Idea

Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus named several hypothetical trades he would like to see. With Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby recently being inquired about, leading up to the deadline. One of Locker's make-believe trades involved Crosby, even though the Raiders have made it clear for years that this won't happen.

"The story of the last few years has remained the same for Crosby: Elite individual play on a bad overall team. Crosby’s 78.0 overall PFF grade slots 17th among qualified edge defenders, and his 75.0 PFF run-defense mark is the 11th-best. Indeed, Crosby is one of four edge players with a 73.0-plus grade as a pass rusher and run defender this year," Locker said.

"San Francisco was already thin at edge rusher going into this season, and those concerns have only been exacerbated following Nick Bosa’s Week 3 ACL tear. Since Week 4, the 49ers are 30th in pressure rate, and the team’s edge rushers possess the same standing in PFF pass-rushing grade. Bryce Huff (85.4 overall grade) has been better than expected, but even he suffered a potentially multi-week hamstring injury."

"Crosby is in a similar boat to Simmons, a top talent being stranded on a dysfunctional team. The Raiders don’t seem to have plans to trade Crosby, who’s under contract through 2029. However, it would be tough to draw up a franchise that needs Crosby’s well-rounded acumen more than the 49ers.

The Raiders will face the Jacksonville Jaguars at home on Sunday. They look forward to Crosby's return after he missed time against the Kansas City Chiefs. Heading into the Bye Week, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll noted what life was like without his best player.

"Maxx [Crosby] was hurt before that. He was not at his best. And in true heroic fashion, he tried to go out there and play and wanted to give it up for his teammates. He tried, and we needed to get him out. And so, I admire the hell out of the fact how he approached that, and he did the best he could. But that one was like, okay, we got to get him out here because he didn’t look like he could protect himself," Carroll said.