Maxx Crosby isn't getting traded, Rapoport says

Maxx Crosby trade rumors have been the background noise of the Raiders' offseason since March, when a deal sending him to Baltimore reportedly collapsed after he failed his physical. That kind of thing tends to linger, especially for a guy who's been the one non-negotiable piece of a rebuilding roster. So when Ian Rapoport got asked about it again during Raiders training camp, people paid attention.

Rapoport's answer wasn't hedged. "I don't get the sense right now that Maxx Crosby will be traded. It feels to me like he's ALL IN on the Las Vegas Raiders and I believe that's the way it will stay," he said on the Pat McAfee Show. For a rumor that's been dragging on since the spring, that's about as close to a definitive no as beat reporters get.

The context matters here. Crosby signed a 3-year, $106.5 million extension that runs through 2027, the kind of money and term that usually signals a franchise cornerstone, not a trade chip. Then in March, the Raiders reportedly agreed to send him to Baltimore for the Ravens' No. 14 pick and a 2027 first-rounder, only for that deal to reportedly fall apart over a failed physical. It was a weird, messy near-miss that left the trade speculation simmering all offseason instead of dying.

That's what makes Rapoport's comments feel like more than just routine camp filler. Crosby has publicly tried to stay above the noise throughout, declining to add fuel to the speculation even as his name kept surfacing in trade chatter. Now, with a credible insider saying the Raiders aren't moving him and that he wants to be there, the story shifts from will he get dealt to how does Las Vegas build around its best player.

For a Raiders team still trying to find its footing, keeping a Pro Bowl-caliber pass rusher under contract through 2027 is about as good an anchor as it gets. Whether that's enough to turn the roster around is a different question, but at least for now, the Crosby-to-somewhere-else talk is off the table.