FOX’s NFL insider Jay Glazer reveals that Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby’s time in Las Vegas is over and suggests that he will be available in a trade prior to the 2026 NFL Draft. Could the Bucs, who desperately need pass-rush help, be in the mix to acquire him?
In an interview with Yahoo Sports prior to the Super Bowl, Glazer was asked if he thought Crosby’s time with the Raiders was done.
“I do,” Glazer said, recalling a conversation he had with Crosby back in December when the Raiders put him on injured reserve and he stormed out of the facility in protest.
When asked if there was a landing spot that made sense to him, Glazer replied: “A ton of them.” … “The day it happened, no less than 20 teams called me and asked, ‘Dude, is this real? Can we get him? … ‘Yes, it’s real.”
Tampa Bay is believed to be interested in Crosby, a five-time Pro Bowler, who has 69.5 career sacks with the Raiders, including 10 last year in 15 games. Raiders general manager John Spytek worked under general manager Jason Licht for over a decade in Tampa Bay, and that relationship might give the Bucs an edge in trade negotiation hierarchy. Over the past week, former Bucs and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said that Tampa Bay should pursue a trade for the edge rusher nicknamed “The Condor.”
Crosby, who turns 29 in August, apparently told Glazer he wants to play for a winner. Las Vegas, which finished 3-14 with the worst record in the NFL in 2025, has the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and Raiders DE Maxx Crosby – Photo by: USA Today
When asked if Crosby’s possible departure from Las Vegas would be the Raiders’ decision or Crosby’s decision, Glazer said: “Maxx’s decision. He doesn’t want to do it. He was just like, ‘I’m not going through another rebuild.’”
The Bucs could use an alpha edge rusher like Crosby, who plays with an edge and has a championship mindset despite years of toiling with the Raiders. Tampa Bay’s defense could use a player with his kind of edge and leadership ability on defense. Licht brought in a similar type of leader and edge rusher with the Jason Pierre-Paul trade in 2018 when he sent a third-round pick to the Giants for the Pro Bowl pass rusher.
The Bucs only posted 36 sacks last year, which was the lowest number of sacks by a Todd Bowles defense since he arrived in Tampa Bay in 2019 as the team’s defensive coordinator. Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby once again led the Bucs in sacks with seven after high-priced free agent signing Haason Reddick was a bust, finishing with just 2.5 sacks in his lone season in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers have not had a double-digit sacker since Shaq Barrett’s Pro Bowl season in 2021 when he finished that year with 10. Crosby has had four years with 10 or more sacks during his seven-year NFL career.
The Cost Of The Bucs’ Possibly Trading For Maxx Crosby
FOX NFL Insider Jay Glazer went on to say that the cost for trading for Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby would likely exceed the draft haul the Cowboys received from the Packers in the Micah Parsons trade. Green Bay sent first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 along with defensive tackle Kenny Clark to Dallas in exchange for the Pro Bowl pass rusher.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport didn’t agree with Glazer’s guess regarding draft compensation for Crosby.
Raiders DE Maxx Crosby – Photo by: USA Today
“It’s not going to be Micah Parsons [compensation] because he was younger,” Rapoport told Raider Nation Radio’s Unnecessary Roughness with Q Myers. “But, you know, a late [first round pick] would be real. Because the Raiders, thankfully, were bad enough, they don’t have to trade to get up to [the first pick]. They got it. It’s all just capital.
“If that’s what it was, they’re not going to replace Maxx Crosby, even if they hit on a great pass rusher, they’re still not going to replace him. What you do is, you replace him with a player and then use the money to go get other good players and really build up the foundation of the team. For sure you could make an argument that trading him makes sense.”
Given the fact that Parsons is three years younger than Crosby, it may take less than two first-round picks to acquire him – perhaps a first-round pick in 2026 and a second rounder in 2027. The Bucs could throw former second-round pick Chris Braswell, who hasn’t developed in Tampa Bay, into a possible trade deal as well. Raiders G.M. John Spytek was a big proponent for drafting Braswell in 2024.
With $23 million in current salary cap space and the ability double that amount with some cap maneuvering via contract restructures, Tampa Bay has the room to acquire Crosby in a trade. Per Spotrac, the team that acquires Crosby would take on his $30.7 million salary structure in 2026 and then see his 2027 salary of $29.7 million guaranteed, which would happen by him being on the roster in March.