The Seattle Seahawks don’t play the Las Vegas Raiders this week, but the chatter around star pass rusher Maxx Crosby has still landed in Seattle’s orbit – again.
After the Raiders decided to shut Crosby down for the final two games of the season, Reuters reported he left the team facility frustrated after being told he wouldn’t play. That dramatic moment instantly fueled the kind of fan-and-media speculation that tends to follow elite edge rushers on struggling teams.
UPDATE (3:56 pm ET): Multiple NFL insiders report that Crosby was placed on the Injured Reserve list, and is expected to have a meniscus trim surgery.
From a Seahawks perspective, it’s a familiar storyline, and Seahawks reporter Corbin K. Smith was among those connecting dots after the news broke.
Key details
- Raiders coach Pete Carroll said a medical evaluation showed Crosby’s knee “looks too bad,” and Crosby left the facility upset.
- Corbin K. Smith posted that the Raiders told Crosby they want to shut him down the final two games, noting Crosby’s frustration after playing hurt much of the year.
- Smith also suggested Seattle had been trying to pursue this type of move earlier in the season and hinted the Seahawks could keep an eye on it again.The Raiders are 2-13, and the season context matters. Reuters described Las Vegas as being in position for the No. 1 pick race, while Crosby — a tone-setter who’s made a career out of playing through pain — clearly wanted to keep going.
Smith’s first post focused on the immediate news hook: the Raiders shutting Crosby down, and Crosby’s reaction to it.
That alone doesn’t mean a trade request is coming, or that the Raiders are entertaining calls. But it’s exactly the kind of moment that makes “What’s next?” feel louder, especially with a marquee defender.Seattle interest in Crosby has been in the air before, and it’s been more than just fans on social media.
In March 2025, ProFootballTalk reported Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said trade talks between Seattle and Las Vegas “opened” with the Seahawks offering quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver
DK Metcalf for Crosby, only for the Raiders to quickly shut it down as Crosby “wasn’t available.”So when Smith posted that Seattle had been “definitely” trying to make something happen earlier and hinted GM John Schneider could revisit big-game hunting, that landed differently than a random “Seahawks should trade for…” take.If Crosby ever became truly available, he’s the kind of player who changes the weekly math for an offense, not just with sacks, but with relentless pressure and snap-to-snap effort.Even while playing through a knee issue, Reuters reported Crosby still produced 73 tackles and 10 sacks in 15 games. That’s the profile of a defender who can tilt close games, especially in January-style matchups.
Since arriving in the
NFL in 2019, Crosby has quickly established himself as one of the league’s most relentless pass rushers, piling up 69.5 sacks in 110 career games while routinely posting double-digit totals. The Raiders star has also stacked up hardware along the way, earning five consecutive Pro Bowl selections (2021-2025) and two Second-Team All-Pro honors.For Seattle, it would be a “top-of-roster” swing: the kind of move that would instantly reshape how teams game-plan for a Mike Macdonald defense.
The hard part, of course, is cost: draft capital, contract structure, and whether the Raiders would even listen.Right now, this remains a social-and-media signal story, not a confirmed trade track. The Raiders can (and likely will) frame this strictly as a health decision, and Crosby has publicly emphasized competing, not draft positioning.
But if any of these follow-up triggers hit, it becomes a real Seahawks offseason watch:Crosby comments again publicly after the season
- Any report the Raiders will “listen” on veterans
- Any credible Seattle-linked sourcing beyond speculation
