Bear Digest

Reasons Why Max Crosby Trade Fits and Also Doesn't Fit the Bears

It would seem Maxx Crosby really is available for trade, according to Jay Glazer of Fox, and the Bears need edge help but cost is the real key to a move.
Gene Chamberlain|
Maxx Crosby closes in on Caleb Williams. Crosby could cost more than Micah Parsons to acquire in a trade said Fox's Jay Glazer.
Maxx Crosby closes in on Caleb Williams. Crosby could cost more than Micah Parsons to acquire in a trade said Fox's Jay Glazer. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The words Fox Sports' Jay Glazer uttered about Maxx Crosby's availability for trade Wednesday had to echo throughout the NFL, including at Halas Hall.

When the long-time NFL insider said "... no less than 20 teams called me," and that a "ton" of teams make sense as a landing spot, it had to have the attention of Bears GM Ryan Poles, if not Ben Johnson. The Bears were extremely impressed by Crosby this season and struggled to stop him when they came away with a win by virtue of a blocked field goal.

Then you had the balloon being punctured. Glazer said the cost to land Crosby in a trade would be, "Probably more than Micah (Parsons)."

It should cost more than Parsons because Crosby is every bit the run defender that he is a pass rusher. He has been top 20 among edges as a run defender five straight years, and four out of five as a pass rusher. His run-stuffing work alone would make him a valued acquisition to the Bears because it is here where their defense was most inept last season, and also because it is the key to coordinator Dennis Allen's entire scheme.

Allen would like to duplicate the pressure he put on offenses while in New Orleans, especially before he became head coach. With Sean Payton's departure, the defense had begun to age out, especially edge Cameron Jordan.

The key to Allen's pressure was not necessarily the blitz, although the Saints did have blitz percentages in the top half of the league five straight years and usually had high sack and pressure numbers.

The key was their run defense. That was something he didn't have this year with the Bears.

Run stopper first

Allen wants to be able to stop the run with six in the box as much as possible with a stout defensive line and downhill linebackers, put the opponent in obvious passing situations, then mix in blitzes with a good rush to generate takeaways or three-and-outs.

He did this in New Orleans. They finished fourth or better against the run four straight years, had sack totals in the 40s or 50s, and were top 10 in takeaways four times. They did all this without having more than one player reach double digits in sacks in any season.

With Montez Sweat here as his double-digit sack guy, it would seem their formula would preclude going after free agent edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, even if the former Saints edge does know the scheme.

Hendrickson never graded higher than 40th among edge players against the run according to Pro Football Focus. For most of his career, he's been in the bottom half of the league as a run defender according to PFF grade. Hendrickson had one good sack season in New Orleans and went to Cincinnati, where he was free to pressure QBs without thinking about run defense because they didn't play defense, period.

But Crosby, that's another story entirely. His playing style would be an ideal fit for the Allen scheme. He plays a physical brand of run defense and obviously is a premier pass rusher.

At what price

The only reason to think the Bears might balk at pursuing him is what Glazer said. It would cost more than Parsons.

The last GM in Chicago made a big move like that for a Raiders edge rusher, got a division title from it and not another winning season or even a playoff win, and then got shown the door. Khalil Mack was everything that was promised, but when he got hurt a few times those first-round picks the Bears surrendered loomed so large.

The Packers found that out this year. Parsons was outstanding and probably even better against the run than they could have hoped. He had something to prove following the bad-mouthing he received from Jerry Jones about run-stopping abilities.

However,  Parsons suffered an ACL injury, one that could affect him into next season. Afterward, the Packers never won a game. They lost five straight to finish the year.

"You make tweaks of course, but stick to the process of bringing in the right types of people and it usually works out for you," Poles said at year's end. "I think you see it across the league all the time—you panic and you want to do crazy things that everybody else wants you to do and it leads to some situations that you can't get out of.

"We want to stay flexible. We want to stay open-minded. We want to stay committed to building this team the right way, because I think that's the best way to sustain success. We're always going to be opportunistic. We're going to go through opportunities that pop up and talk through them. Is this best for us short term? Is it best for us long term? And then we move from there.”

It's hard to see how trading away two first-round picks-plus more for an edge rusher when they're playing a scheme that never required or ever had two double-digit sack players in a season when it operated the most effectively for Allen in New Orleans.

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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.