There was a brief sense of excitement for Denver Broncos fans during the 2026 offseason when Maxx Crosby was traded by the Las Vegas Raiders to the Baltimore Ravens...
...until he wasn't.
The Ravens apparently didn't like Crosby's medical examination, so they sent him back to the Raiders and took back their picks. Crosby went from being off the Broncos' schedule entirely in 2026 to back on it twice. But what if there's still a chance they don't have to face him this year?
ESPN recently put out a list of players who could be considered early trade deadline candidates to be moved, and Crosby was at the top of the list.
Denver Broncos won't have to face Maxx Crosby if Raiders trade him at the 2026 deadline
Here's what ESPN NFL reporter Dan Graziano had to say about Crosby's current situation with the Raiders:
"Crosby might stick with the Raiders all year at this point, but if he's going to get traded at all, we're probably looking at something in-season ahead of the deadline. If a team such as the Cowboys, Bills, Bears or Patriots finds itself in contention and in need of an impact pass rusher, things could get interesting here again."
- Dan Graziano, ESPN
Graziano also pointed out that after the Ravens reneged on their trade with the Raiders, Crosby's $27 million contract for this year became guaranteed. And with that trigger, any team acquiring him will have to pay the fullness of his remaining $59 million over the next two seasons.
But that's a reasonable price to pay for a pass rusher of Crosby's caliber.
And based on the way things have been going the past couple of years with trades being made around the league, it wouldn't be shocking at all to see Crosby dealt during the season if he proves to be healthy and the Raiders are out of contention.
That would certainly be a relief for the Broncos. Regardless of how much success the Broncos have had against the Raiders over the past two seasons -- even with Crosby on the field -- he's a problem when it comes to game-planning. Sean Payton has pointed that out very specifically, and said this last December:
...It's unusual to have a player like that. Like a lot of times, we might have certain calls when such and such is off the field. Then we would do this, but we wouldn’t do it… In meetings last week, I said, ‘Well, we’ll run this when he’s off the field,’ and they’re like, ‘Well, he’s never off.’ It’s really remarkable. So then we set run game alerts, Crosby alerts for boots… I mean, there was a ton of time where we wanted to put him with each play, and I was just letting him know. I said, ‘Man, you were an extra hour and a half each night just with putting a plan together.’ He’s something else.”
- Sean Payton via Broncos PR
Payton even reached out to Crosby directly after he was traded to let him know how relieved he was to have him out of the division.
The Broncos play the Raiders for the first time this season in Week 11 (November 22). The NFL trade deadline is on November 3. If Crosby is dealt at the deadline, the Broncos would be able to run those plays Sean Payton has drawn up for when Crosby is on the field, because they wouldn't have to face him at all.
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