Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby remains a topic of speculation as the San Francisco 49ers are increasingly seen as a possible trade destination, despite recent developments.
The framework presented by former Raiders insider Vincent Bonsignore assumes a rational market. It also assumes the Raiders would deal their best defender to a rival they’ve spent three decades trying to distance themselves from. Either way, fellas, both assumptions deserve scrutiny. Thankfully, that’s why you have the Ramble.
Start with the history. Las Vegas’ relocation from Oakland was framed, publicly and repeatedly, as an escape from the Bay Area’s shadow. The 49ers aren’t just a conference rival; they’re a symbol of the market the Raiders left behind. Trading Crosby, a homegrown star and the face of the post-Oakland era, to San Francisco isn’t just a football decision. It’s a franchise unwinding its own origin story for parts.
What would a package from the 49ers for Maxx Crosby look like?
Now the football logic, which cuts against San Francisco anyway. Bonsignore’s ask, a 2027 first, a 2028 second and Mykel Williams, treats the Ravens’ collapsed trade as if it never happened. It did. Baltimore’s medical staff found something serious enough to walk from an agreed framework, and that fact doesn’t disappear because a new team enters the room.
Every front office negotiating with Las Vegas now has verified leverage: point to the failed physical and discount the return accordingly. San Francisco has no reason to pay full price when the market has already priced in doubt.
Related: Would Jerry Jones pursue a trade for No. 98 before the season?
Williams complicates it further. San Francisco viewed him as a top-15 talent before his ACL tear, and nothing about his ceiling has changed. Surrendering him, plus two premium picks, for a 28-year-old edge rusher with an unresolved knee is not team-building. It’s paying retail for a discounted asset.
The more interesting wrinkle is Crosby himself. Reports suggest his relationship with the organization soured over how his injury was handled, not over wanting out entirely. If he returns healthy at training camp next month, that resolves the Raiders’ actual problem, uncertainty, without requiring a trade at all. A healthy Crosby restores his trade value everywhere, which means Las Vegas has every incentive to wait rather than sell at a discount to the one franchise it least wants to enrich.
That’s the real counterargument to any 49ers scenario: the Raiders don’t need to trade Crosby to a rival on a discount. They need him to practice in pads. If he does, the leverage shifts back to Las Vegas, and the price for any team, especially San Francisco, only goes up from here.
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