Training camp is underway, and the Chicago Bears’ biggest issue on defense is hard to miss: they need more help off the edge. Montez Sweat gives them a dependable anchor, but beyond him the depth chart is loaded with uncertainty for a team trying to operate like a contender.
That’s why Maxx Crosby keeps popping up as the obvious name to chase. The Las Vegas Raiders and Crosby are said to be content to run it back after a failed offseason trade effort to the Baltimore Ravens, but that doesn’t mean Chicago should sit this one out if there’s any real opening.
The framework is there. Baltimore reportedly had a deal in place with the Raiders that would have sent two first-round picks the other way, and that price feels lower now once you factor in the medical concerns and the fact that the trade never happened. For the Bears, the move could be built around picks and give Crosby a chance to join a team that believes it can make a Super Bowl push.
There’s also the Raiders’ side of it. They’re stuck in a brutal division with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers coming off playoff seasons, plus Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs still looming. That doesn’t exactly scream contender, and it raises the question of whether Crosby still fits their timeline.
The Raiders are also described as a young team, even as veteran Kirk Cousins gets the first shot at the starting quarterback job. Crosby, meanwhile, already has been the subject of trade chatter once in recent months, which only adds to the sense that the door isn’t fully shut.
For Chicago, the logic is simple. The Bears need more juice in the pass rush if they want to stack up with teams like the Los Angeles Rams, who are being treated as prohibitive favorites after a blockbuster offseason. Giving up premium picks is never painless, but the cost might be worth it if it lands a player of Crosby’s caliber.
And from Crosby’s perspective, there’s a case to be made as well. He finished the 2025 season with only 10.0 sacks, and the Raiders’ lack of talent around him meant opposing offenses could pour everything into stopping him. Put him next to Sweat in Chicago, and that problem changes fast.
If the Raiders are willing to listen, the Bears have a straightforward answer: make the offer and don’t blink.
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For Bears fans, that matters because Johnson is not treating Williams like a player who needs shielding from the pressure. He is framing him and the team as a group with something to prove, especially after Chicago was viewed by some as a regression candidate. It is a simple message, but one that suggests Johnson is comfortable building an edge around the Bears instead of asking them to ignore the challenge. [Read more 🡒]