Bear Digest

Bears Insider's View on Possible Maxx Crosby Trade Douses the Flame

Those in the know on the Bears don't see why a team with so many good, young players and an empasis on building in the draft would throw it all away for a top edge.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams looks past Maxx Crosby for a target. The Bears need to be looking past Crosby in a possible trade.
Caleb Williams looks past Maxx Crosby for a target. The Bears need to be looking past Crosby in a possible trade. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Another day of wild, unfounded speculation about Maxx Crosby coming to the Bears for no reason other than a podcast he did with Caleb Williams had a realistic and expected disappointing conclusion for the fans who had been frothing at the mouth over about 48 hours.

Really? A podcast? Williams went on one with the St. Brown brothers last year and the Bears weren't trading for Amon-Ra. It's a podcast people, and there wasn't a moment during it where Crosby came out and said he wanted to come to Chicago. So, get over it.

The bottom line is that Crosby is unlikely to be a Bears player because of the draft capital required and salary cap space needed, both now and in the future. He may not even be traded based on some revelations by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Rapoport pointed out how Crosby had to actually have more serious knee surgery than expected and the decision to hold him out the final two games that set him off was actually an example of the Raiders making a good decision in his best interest.  

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer had reported back during the season how Crosby was done with the Raiders over the decision, but it turned out they did him a favor and that statement was made before the surgery. How can Crosby be mad at the Raiders over how they were looking out for his health, especially when they were right? That's not too smart and rather selfish besides being stupid.

All of that aside, if Crosby does want to demand a trade anyway, the economics and personnel demands are good enough reasons to doubt Bears GM Ryan Poles would be involved.

The Tribune's Brad Biggs was asked his opinion on whether the Bears would pursue a Crosby trade and while he couldn't discount some interest, he also had this for an answer: "Ultimately, I think Poles will consider all possibilities and likely lean toward keeping his valuable draft capital."

Biggs also doused any ideas they might want to bring in often-injured edge Bradley Chubb, who will be a cap victim. Chubb probably gives them nothing they couldn't get by using Austin Booker for a full season.

However, in his column, Biggs said the Crosby situation is too unlikely to be a Bears fit because of speculated trade demand by the Raiders. Glazer had said the trade-compensation demand by the Raiders would be greater than for Micah Parsons by Dallas. It should, because Crosby actually stops the run and rushes the passer and Parsons is not a run stopper. This type of trade would mean bigger compensation than Dallas got, with two first-rounders and former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. 

The Bears in 2025 finally started seeing what properly developed, talented rookies can do. They're going to want more of that type of thing. It was Poles who put it out there when hired. The Bears' goal is to build through the draft.

Following Ryan Pace's mistaken path of trading for Khalil Mack before the talent for a competitive team was fully assembled led to a one-year wonder team. The Bears have had too many of those. That's the type of thing the Bears do not want. They are building a team with staying power, and drafted players who develop quickly, cost little and let them come come together as a team.

Biggs' mailbag column had another interesting comment indirectly applicable to the topic. He pointed out all the numerous players he expects could have breakout second seasons or even third seasons and all the young players he reeled off make it apparent how this is such a young, dynamic group. Luther Burden, Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, Kyle Monangai and others have barely begun to show their true value. 

He even put Williams in this class. Someone like second-year guard Luke Newman might be one, since the Bears' health at guard last year was perfect and far better in 2025 than in other recent years.

Why would a team with such a chain going of young, blossoming talent want to throw it away by bringing in a $40 million-a-year edge who will disrupt their salary cap structure. He’d vault them to the top of the charts in spending on the defensive line after they were already spending more than two-thirds of the league on this position group.

Crosby might be someone for another team, and he has desired high level of talent, but the situation is not right for bringing aboard 29-year-old, highly priced players when they might even already have a key edge contributor in Austin Booker and really would be more interested in an effective reserve type than a dominant player.

Focus on the draft or lower-priced free agent edges to alternate with Booker and Montez Sweat. The two Super Bowl teams this season relied on their own players rather than import dominant types at high prices, and they enjoyed great success.

Big-ticket items like Crosby in trades are for teams with a lot of cap space to waste and extra draft picks to cough up. Or they're for teams who want to put their own development in jeopardy just to add a big name.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.