Why the Bears Were Right Not to Outbid Ravens in Maxx Crosby Trade

Despite some buzz among the fanbase, this deal would not have been in the Bears' best interest.

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The NFL world was rocked by a blockbuster deal late on Saturday night, and I'm not talking about the Chicago Bears' trade for center Garrett Bradbury. ESPN's Adam Schefter first broke the news on X that the Las Vegas Raiders were sending five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens. Despite some buzz around a potential Chicago Bears trade for Crosby, he will be a Raven in 2026.

This is obviously disappointing news to anyone who wanted to see Crosby land in Chicago, but after seeing the trade package that the Raiders are getting, Bears fans should be relieved that general manager Ryan Poles did not outbid the Ravens. The Raiders will be getting Baltimore's first-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL draft (No. 14 overall) and their first-round pick next year, too.

That's a hefty price, and Chicago would have had to add significantly more to have a better package than Baltimore. Their own first-round pick this year is 11 spots further back in the draft order, a difference of about a mid-second-round draft pick, according to Drafttek's trade value chart. That means Chicago would have had to offer at least two first-round picks and a second-round pick, and potentially more.

It's no surprise then that Poles balked at this price tag. The Bears still have quite a few roster holes to fill this offseason, and going all-in on one player would have been overly hasty. They still need to replace Tremaine Edmunds, sign at least two starting-caliber safeties, and the perfect answer to the Bears' left tackle problem is available but likely won't be cheap.

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The Chicago Bears may not have even been involved in the Maxx Crosby trade talks this week

As aforementioned, it's no surprise that a general manager as conservative as Ryan Poles failed to beat an offer of two first-round picks, but it turns out he may have been out of the Crosby sweepstakes much earlier than anyone thought.

There'd been rumors about two or three teams making aggressive trade offers for Crosby over the past week, and many people assumed the Bears were one of them. However, they may not have been involved at all, according to NFL insider Dianna Russini. She posted on X that the Cowboys and Ravens were the most aggressive in their trade offers, while the Jaguars were also assembling a package. No mention of the Bears at all.

Both the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys had been working on this for days. They kept communication with the Raiders.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were another team trying to put together a big trade package that would get it done.

Ravens win. https://t.co/5AV8vV3uyT

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 7, 2026

The Bears still have options to upgrade their pass rush

Despite missing out on Maxx Crosby, the Bears still have options to address a woeful defensive line. In fact, they could still make the kind of splashy move that excites the fanbase by signing free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson posted 17.5 sacks in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons and has been one of the NFL's most consistently dominant pass rushers for years.

Hendrickson is two years older than Crosby, but the Bears could sign him to a modest deal ($25.4 million is Hendrickson's market value, according to Spotrac) and keep all their draft picks. This would be only a short-term addition, but it strikes me as a far more valuable deal than a Maxx Crosby trade would have been. The Bears can get their dominant pass rusher while retaining their draft flexibility, and that fits their timeline far better than going all-in on 2026 and 2027.

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