Maxx Crosby may be working back from injury, but he has hardly been a stranger around the Raiders this offseason. The Las Vegas defensive end has been in the building every day, going through treatment and doing what he needs to do as he eyes what he hopes will be the best season of his career in 2026.
He has also spent the offseason around the team, getting familiar with new teammates and offering whatever help he can. Around the Raiders, Crosby remains the clear standard-setter - the player everyone looks to for how to carry themselves and how to prepare.
That kind of presence matters for a defense trying to come together. Crosby is the piece that starts it all, the player who brings the expectation level with him every time he steps on the field. And with teammates who have already played in big games now around him, the Raiders believe that can raise the level of the whole unit heading into next season.
One of those new faces is linebacker Nakobe Dean, and he has already noticed how Crosby operates.
"His [Maxx Crosby] presence is felt every day," said Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean. "Even if he has not been out there on the field with us, he is out there working.
We see him working and rehabbing every day. His positive attitude is infectious.
He says what's up to everybody. You can see how he knows everybody.
So it is kind of like with me coming, and not knowing anybody, I am trying to learn everyone's name the way he does. You can tell he really wants to win.
He is ready to get to it."
For Dean, the message is simple: Crosby’s example is everywhere, even when he is not fully on the field. And for the Raiders, that daily standard is exactly what they want driving the defense forward.
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