Why Crosby's Raiders Return Notable Aspect of Kubiak's First Season

The Las Vegas Raiders have had a rollercoaster of a ride of an offseason. Las Vegas entered the summer in need of a new coaching staff and additional talent for its roster. After 14 losses last season and 13 losses the season before, Las Vegas had no shortage of issues to address.

However, for all of the legitimate issues the Raiders entered the offseason with, arguably none were bigger than the situation between star defensive end Maxx Crosby and the Raiders' front office. Crosby was reportedly unhappy with the front office's decision to sit him out of the final two games.

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Crosby Is Back

Las Vegas was on the back end of another disappointing season. Crosby had been battling injuries all season during a woeful 2025 campaign. With two games remaining and the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft on the line, the front office made the decision they felt was best for the organization.

All things considered, between securing the No. 1 overall pick for only the second time in franchise history, landing Fernando Mendoza with that pick, and protecting Crosby, their most valuable asset on the field and on the trade block, it is hard to deny the decision that was made by the front office.

Still, Crosby was reportedly unhappy and reportedly expressed his feelings behind closed doors about wanting to be traded earlier this offseason. Las Vegas' front office said publicly they never wanted to trade Crosby. Both Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek mentioned as much multiple times.

However, Spytek also explained that he was not in the business of holding his star players hostage. If Crosby wanted to go and the Raiders could find a quality deal, they would make a move. They did so, agreeing in principle to trade Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this offseason.

Then, things got crazy, as things often seem to do for the Raiders. Las Vegas believed they had two first-round picks in return from Baltimore. It would have given them two first-round picks in this year's draft and next year's draft, unquestionably expediting their rebuild.

That is, until Crosby failed the Ravens' physical, undoing the trade and returning Crosby to the Raiders. It was one of the most unique situations of such magnitude in league history, but just another example of how things seem to go for the Raiders far too often.

Although the two additional picks would have been nice, adding Crosby to any roster is nicer. This is even more so the case for a Raiders team that added more talent to its defensive roster and coaching staff than Crosby has played with since he was drafted. Unexpectedly adding Crosby again was a win.

After years of unsuccessfully giving Crosby a solid supporting cast, Las Vegas added one under the belief that Crosby was a Raven. The moves they made naturally made one wonder how Crosby would have fit in. The failed trade will eliminate that question.

Crosby's return to the Raiders is one of the many intriguing aspects of the Raiders' new-look roster. Everyone knows what Crosby, who is one of the best at his position, can do on the field. However, it is still unknown how he will look after his rehab, as well as the new roster additions.

It is fair to assume Crosby's return will be positive, especially if he remains healthy. Las Vegas assembled its new roster, not expecting Crosby to be on it, but nearly all of the moves they made on defense this offseason will benefit Crosby more than just about anyone else.

The failed Crosby trade was Klint Kubiak's first taste of how unpredictable life can be in the NFL, whether on or off the Field. Kubiak recently explained how the failed trade went down from his perspective.

“I think anytime there's a trade, that you always know that it could go down that way. So, I mean, once it happened, I was really excited. When Spy [John Spytek] came and talked to me about it and we sat down, and my first thing was a smile. 'We have Maxx [Crosby] back? Are you kidding me? That's great. You got anything else you want to talk about?' Our team just got better,” Kubiak said.

“I think I sent him a text because I'm sure he was getting enough people calling him, and then he was back in our building the next day doing his rehab kind of like nothing ever happened. So, I see Maxx [Crosby] all the time at the facility. He's one of the first guys there every day. I've said that. John's [Spytek] said that. So, it's been really good in this time before the players all get there to get to know him a little bit better."

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