The Las Vegas Raiders are in a rebuild, and this offseason, the Silver and Black need to ask themselves: Can they turn this situation around to align themselves in the contending window of Maxx Crosby?
Las Vegas has a couple of foundational pieces in Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty, along with the projected No. 1 overall pick in Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza.
Nonetheless, these three are in their early to mid-20s. Meanwhile, Crosby will turn 29 before the 2026 NFL season begins. As a result, the Raiders’ pass rusher is the subject of trade speculation, and offers should come this offseason from contending teams.
Mark Willard of 95.7 The Game believes the San Francisco 49ers should pursue Crosby.
“If you want the big ticket out on the market, whether it’s free agency or trade name, that I would be obsessed with if I were a 49er fan, and I am, it’s Maxx Crosby,” Willard said on Jan. 26 on 95.7 The Game. “If you could circle one player that’s a proven player, and you could find a way to make him a Niner, that’s my guy, Maxx Crosby.”
The question will be for the Raiders. If the Silver and Black don’t believe their rebuild can turn the team into a contender while Crosby is under contract, then it would be ideal to maximize an asset and stockpile on draft picks or young talent.
Would Trey Hendrickson to the Raiders Make Sense?
Should the Raiders decide to keep Crosby, the next question will be whether they can pursue an edge player to serve as his running mate. In free agency, there’s a name that could solve that issue if Las Vegas decide to spend the money to lure Cincinnati Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson.
However, former Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy believes that the team has several other weaknesses on their roster that need addressing before considering an edge rusher.
“As much as I like Hendrickson as a player, I don’t think the Raiders need to go there,” Kennedy said on the Jan. 26 edition of the “Raiders Squad Show.” “They’ve got other things that they need to address with the money… I think they need help at linebacker. I understand what they’re trying to do with this defense.
“Of course, you want to give a Robin to your Batman with Maxx Crosby. But right now, there are so many things that are glaring to me that you cannot ignore, most definitely the offensive line, possibly the wide receiver in the secondary and stuff like that, that I would go to before I go to defensive line.”
Latest Head Coach Update Regarding Las Vegas
Before the Raiders can think about free agency or the trade market, they have to get their head coach. NFL insider Adam Schefter shared the latest on this front, with the Buffalo Bills serving as a competitor for the same targets.
“I think the candidates on the Raiders and the Bills radar are pretty similar,“ Schefter said during a Jan. 26 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “We have essentially the Bills feel like they’re going to go offense.
“It feels like Davis Webb, Brian Daboll, Joe Brady, [and] Grant Udinski. That’s what it feels like to me in Buffalo right now. The Raiders, it looks like it could be Davis Webb, Joe Brady is there today, Brian Daboll, the same names in both places.
“Now, I would think that obviously, Josh Allen is going to be more of a drawing card than the Raiders’ situation. But if you love Fernando Mendoza, then go take the Raiders’ job and spend the next decade with him. That’s certainly viable.”
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