Could This Blockbuster Trade Nab Maxx Crosby For The Bears?

The Chicago Bears find themselves in an interesting position after their surprising 2025-26 playoff run.

On one hand, they have a championship-level roster with several young assets, including quarterback Caleb Williams, still cheap for the upcoming season. On the other, they don’t have a ton of financial wiggle room at the moment to turn them into a top-flight Super Bowl contender, with a number of veteran contracts in need of trimming or restructuring.

One trade proposal from ESPN’s Bill Barnwell could take care of two birds with one stone.

Barnwell suggests a move that could send wide receiver DJ Moore and a 2026 first-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for elite pass-rusher Maxx Crosby, who reportedly is on the outs in Vegas despite his downplaying of the rumors, and 2027 fifth-rounder.

“The Raiders probably aren't trading Crosby unless they can get a first-round pick or some cumulative value in that ballpark. … The Bears have the 25th pick, and GM Ryan Poles hasn't been shy about using draft picks to add talent,” Barnwell explained.

“Poles probably has to clear out some cash and cap to get a deal done. Enter Moore, whose four-year extension starts next season. The Bears have already paid Moore a $20 million signing bonus as part of that deal, $23.5 million of Moore's 2026 deal is already guaranteed, and $15.5 million of his 2027 compensation locks in if he is on the roster in mid-March. Any team acquiring Moore would essentially be signing to pay him $49 million over the next two years. … Poles and the Bears, meanwhile, would be getting out of what might be an awful contract extension and realigning some of their cash toward the weakest part (albeit also one of the most expensive parts) of their roster. Crosby pushes everyone into the right role, notably Sweat, who would see far fewer double-teams. Giving up a first-round pick would be painful, and the Bears need to address safety with Jaquan Brisker hitting free agency. But if they think they're close to making a deeper playoff run, adding Crosby would be one way to leverage Caleb Williams' rookie-scale salary.”

It’s so crazy it just might work—though it might require a 2027 Bears pick to go the Raiders’ way as well.

It’s not just about the big contracts going back and forth to mostly even things out. It’s about the fact that both players fill a major need for the teams they’d be going to. The Raiders could actually use Moore to help quarterback Francisco Mendoza, who’s almost certainly the Raiders’ choice at No. 1 overall. Until last season, Moore had six straight seasons of 850 receiving yards or more, and adding him to the fold alongside Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty creates a nice offensive “Big 3” from a skill position standpoint (assuming they can block anything). Plus, it opens up snaps for Luther Burden III to grow into a bigger role next to Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland.

As for the Bears, the Crosby addition makes the entire defense more dangerous even if they don’t add anything else to the unit. It essentially turns Montez Sweat from the No. 1 option as a pass-rusher to the running mate role, sliding all the double-teams to Crosby and enhancing the run defense as well. Then, the Bears could focus on more “average” linebackers behind them, as the Patriots did after bringing in Milton Williams this past year.

It’s a gamble, given that Crosby is coming off of injury and how the Bears’ previous moves to address the edge spot have fallen flat. But if the Bears want to really transform themselves into the top dogs of the NFC, this is the kind of move you have to make. With Caleb Williams still on his rookie deal, it’s a worthy swing.

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