One of the most bizarre headlines of the entire 2026 offseason was the Las Vegas Raiders sending star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in a trade, and the Ravens deciding to hit "return to sender" on the deal.
The Ravens failed Crosby on his physical, got their draft picks back, and forced the Raiders to reevaluate a really expensive (and costly in other ways) situation.
But the Ravens' outrageous decision to cancel the trade for Crosby sort of gave new life to everyone else who might have been interested in making that deal. While the Raiders seem content to hold onto Crosby until his value is back up, there are plenty of teams who should be circling like vultures over that situation.
We're going to take a look at four contenders from the NFC, specifically, who need to be ready to pounce whenever the Raiders decide they're going to part with Crosby (again).
49ers, Eagles lead NFC contenders who should be ready to make a Maxx Crosby trade
1. San Francisco 49ers
Believe it or not, but the San Francisco 49ers were dead last in the NFL in sacks last season. They were in the bottom 10 the year before that.
Even though Nick Bosa was hurt last year, the 49ers' lack of pass rush is disturbing, especially for a team that has been so good in spite of their many injuries. Imagine if the 49ers actually catch a string of good luck in the injury department. If their pass rush ends up being their downfall, it would be a major indictment on GM John Lynch.
If Crosby becomes available, the 49ers should be as aggressive as any team out there in trying to get him, maybe even including 2025 1st-round pick Mykel Williams to sweeten the deal.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is one of the most aggressive general managers in the NFL, and made a blockbuster deal during the 2025 season to give his pass rush a boost. That trade was for Jaelan Phillips of the Miami Dolphins, whose brief time with the Eagles is already over for good.
The Eagles tried but failed to retain Phillips in free agency this year, and have been forced to pivot.
They recently finalized the trade sending WR AJ Brown to the New England Patriots, and that puts even more arrows in Roseman's quiver for future trades to consider. The Eagles will be aggressive if they perceive the pass rush isn't good enough, and Vic Fangio would undoubtedly sign off on a star player like Maxx Crosby.
3. Chicago Bears
If I can rain on the Bears' offseason parade a little bit, I don't think this team did nearly enough to upgrade its pass rush.
The Bears feasted in the takeaway department defensively last year, but that's a tough category to live and die by year over year. Especially with so much roster turnover in the defensive backfield, you would think the Bears would be a lot more aggressive in going after pass rush help.
They were one of the teams heavily rumored to be interested in a Crosby trade in the first place, and if those talks open up again, they should be pushing to the front of the line. They might end up being the most "desperate" team on this list for a player like Crosby as the season gets going.
4. Seattle Seahawks
Nobody should be rushing to help the Seattle Seahawks, but Seattle delivered the Las Vegas Raiders their head coach this season. The Raiders don't owe Seattle anything for that, but the line of communication between these two teams is going to be wide open.
The Raiders will likely only trade Crosby if the price is right. While teams may not want to deal with the Seahawks because they are the reigning Super Bowl champions, if Seattle makes the best offer, they could add one of the league's most dangerous pass rushers.
That's an area of the roster that has come into question this offseason for Mike Macdonald, who could do what his old team -- the Ravens -- couldn't, and get Crosby on his defense for 2026.
Add us as a preferred source on Google