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Maxx Crosby’s Raiders future a key storyline at NFL combine
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- Maxx Crosby’s Raiders future a key storyline at NFL combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Raiders general manager John Spytek feels good about star defensive end Maxx Crosby staying put in Las Vegas .
"I do, yes," Spytek said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine when asked if he anticipates Crosby being in uniform for the Raiders when the season kicks off.
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"We're in the business of having really good players on the team," Spytek added. "And we need a lot more of them. It's hard to build a great team without elite players."
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby sacks Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. AP
But he also isn't about to hang up if another team calls to make an offer for Crosby.
"We're always listening, man," Spytek said.
In other words, Spytek expecting or hoping Crosby is back next season is entirely different from Spytek definitively saying the Raiders star will be wearing silver and black next season.
If that were the case, Spytek would have come out Tuesday and unequivocally said Crosby isn't going anywhere.
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But he didn't. And that is conspicuous.
As an NFL executive pointed out: "Nobody will put this to bed."
And therein lies one of the more intriguing stories brewing in Indianapolis.
Has Crosby's time with the Raiders come to an end?
The answer to that is, well, complicated.
Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Does Spytek hope that Crosby is on the roster when they open next season? Why wouldn't he? On a team devoid of high-impact talent, Crosby isn't just a game changer; he's the heart and soul, and spiritual leader of the entire locker room.
And by the looks of it, there is mutual respect between the Raiders star and Spytek, whose organizational power was solidified when the club moved on from Pete Carroll last month and essentially handed the reins to Spytek
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"Maxx and I have a great relationship," Spytek said. "He's in the building every day, getting healthy right now. We talk on the phone, we text. So I have a great relationship with Max."
Good teams don't let a talent like that out the door, no matter how compelling an offer is or how many teams blow up Spytek's phone trying to pry Crosby out of Las Vegas.
Spytek, now in his second season as the Raiders general manager , lived in that world throughout his first season in charge, taking multiple calls from multiple teams that made Godfather-type offers for Crosby. He patiently listened, but politely declined every overture.
Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles, left, blocks Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby during the second half of an NFL football game in Las Vegas, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) AP
Crosby is as off-limits as any player in the league.
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But this goes far deeper than Spytek and the Raiders wanting to keep Crosby in Las Vegas for the remainder of his career.
Not the least of which is Crosby's own feelings on the matter. As in, does he really want to sign off on yet another Raiders rebuild, when the multiple re-sets and regime changes he's already gone through have yielded just one winning season and one playoff appearance?
That includes the ill-fated Pete Carroll era, which began with so much pomp and circumstance last year when Carroll essentially promised to deliver a 10-win season, only for the Raiders to bumble and stumble to a four-win season.
Instead of the immediate turnaround Carroll pledged, he was a one-and-done, and the Raiders were back to square one.
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Caught in the middle of it all was Crosby, who frustratingly watched yet another season of personal dominance wasted by yet another season of Raiders dysfunction.
Nothing against Spytek or new coach Klint Kubiak , the man tabbed to replace Carroll, or even Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who the Raiders will undoubtedly select first overall in the NFL draft , but would anyone blame Crosby if he decided to push for a trade to a team offering a more immediate chance to win?
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby takes the field prior to a game against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Crosby will turn 29 by the time the next session starts. By no means is he old.
In fact, he's right smack in the middle of his prime. But he has only a finite number of peak years left. Even after swearing eternal allegiance to the Raiders multiple times over the years, it's completely understandable if Crosby's longing to play on the NFL's biggest stages might be outweighing the love he has for the Raiders, specifically owner Mark Davis, with whom he enjoys a tight bond.
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That possibility surfaced during Super Bowl week, with multiple reports suggesting Crosby's reluctance about another Raiders rebuild and his misgivings with the way the Raiders shut him down over the last two games of last season.
Crosby hasn't flamed any of those fires in the two weeks since those reports, but he also hasn't completely shut them down, either, despite multiple chances and platforms to do so. Including his own weekly podcast, The Rush With Maxx Crosby .
So what's really going on?
Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders poses for a photo with fans prior to the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images) Getty Images
The consensus in Indianapolis is that Crosby, one of the most loyal athletes on the planet, wants to sit down with the Raiders, including Spytek and Tom Brady , the club's minority owner and de facto president of football operations , to hear their plan for getting the Raiders turned around.
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This isn't about false promises or a pie-in-the-sky sales pitch that tries to sell Crosby on an immediate turnaround. Multiple coaches and regimes have taken Crosby down that road before, and look what it's gotten him.
And it doesn't sound like Spytek wants to be the latest Raiders leader to sell anyone a bill of goods, Crosby included
"I'm not into quickly turning it around," Spytek. "I'm into turning it around the right way."
But it also raises a timeline issue. How long will it take to truly get things turned around, and how many peak years will Crosby have left, if and when the latest reset takes hold?
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The answers to those questions will likely drive the Crosby situation to a conclusion. He'll either be on board with the latest plan and how long it will take to come to fruition, or he will ask for a trade.
Until there is a definitive answer on what Crosby's mindset is, the Raiders will hope for the best but also continue to do their due diligence. They have to be prepared to react to whatever scenario emerges, even if it means having to trade one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
