Maxx Crosby would have been an elite addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense, but his price may be too high. Tyler Sullivan from CBS Sports revealed potential trade packages for the 28-year-old veteran, and Bucs fans might want to look away.
Sullivan began his explanation by reminding everyone of the Micah Parsons trade from last offseason. If you recall, Parsons was acquired for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark. Clark just finished his age-30 season, but is still playing well. He has missed one single game over the last five seasons and made three Pro Bowls throughout his career.
He's the epitome of a reliable defensive tackle, and was no throw-in player to the massive deal. With this precedent in mind, it's important to understand Crosby is two years older than Parsons, and never been as elite.
Parsons has made the Pro Bowl every year of his career, made either the All-Pro team four of five seasons, and never posted fewer than a dozen sacks in a season. Parsons is the best of the best edge rushers and was treated as such.
Crosby is still an elite pass rusher, just in a different category. Not only has he not produced at as high a level, but his age is a factor. Still, Crosby has made five straight Pro Bowls which has driven his price through the roof.
Sullivan proposed five potential trade offers for Crosby, and none are appealing to Bucs' fans. The majority of them required a first and a second round pick from the 2026 and 2027 draft classes. This trade was proposed to three of the five teams by Sullivan and seems like the best option.
If Crosby's price is right here, he may be worth the risk.
The problem lies in the next idea. Somehow, Sullivan proposes the Bills pay two first-round picks (26+27) and Keon Coleman. If you don't know who Coleman is, he's a former first-round pick whom the Bills brass blatantly bashed publicly via a press conference. He hasn't lived up to expectations and seems to have no place left in Buffalo.
This trade package is slightly less than the Parsons price, but is close. If the Bucs are asked to pay this much for Crosby, it's a hard pass. After all, he just signed a contract extension with the Raiders through 2029.
Over the final three seasons of the deal, Crosby will make $35 million annually until the end of his age-32 season. His agent deserves an award after creating this contract.
If Sullivan's Bills-Raiders pricetag is similar to what the Bucs must pay, they need to forget about it. Crosby is an elite talent, but his age, injury concerns and pricetag are too much for Bucs' fans to worry about him. I'd much rather take a chance in the draft, if we fail, try again next year, we'd still have the 2027 first round pick.