For years, Maxx Crosby has carried the Raiders’ pass rush almost by himself. This offseason, Las Vegas finally took a real swing at changing that.
Crosby has led the team in sacks every year since 2021, and even with multiple games missed last season, nobody else on the roster came close to matching his production. No teammate finished with even half of Crosby’s 10 sacks. That kind of gap has been a recurring issue for the Silver and Black, and the team has spent plenty of time trying to find him a true running mate.
The search has gone through Chandler Jones, Tyree Wilson and Christian Wilkins, but none of those bets worked out. Now the Raiders have attacked the problem from multiple angles, adding Kwity Paye in free agency and using the 2026 NFL Draft to bring in Keyron Crawford in the third round.
Paye arrives with the kind of résumé Las Vegas has been chasing. The 28-year-old has 30 sacks over five seasons and has been reliable on the field, starting at least 15 games in four of those five years. His arrival became even more important after the botched Baltimore trade left the Raiders in need of a proven edge rusher, which pushed them to sign him away from the Indianapolis Colts.
The Raiders also kept Malcolm Koonce in the mix, and that move could matter just as much. The 2021 third-round pick flashed before tearing his ACL, and now that he is another full year removed from the injury, there’s reason to expect more from him.
Crawford brings a different kind of intrigue. He didn’t even start playing football until his senior year of high school, so he’s still relatively raw compared with most rookies.
But the production came fast anyway. The former Auburn Tiger posted five sacks in his final college season and earned All-SEC honors.
He also brings traits the Raiders can use right away: burst, explosiveness and a twitchy first step. For a defense that has needed more depth in the pass rush, that matters. Las Vegas finally has more than one answer when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
In Other News...
Jon Gruden Just Sent Raiders Fans A Brutal AFC West Message
Jon Gruden has never been shy about weighing in on the AFC West, and his latest read on the division lands in a place Raiders fans probably wont love. The former Las Vegas coach pointed to continuity at quarterback and on the sideline as the biggest edge in the race, while also suggesting the Raiders are still in the middle of a climb even as they try to settle in under a new coaching staff and a reshaped roster.
The bigger backdrop is that Gruden remains entangled in his legal fight with the NFL over the leaked emails that ended his Raiders tenure, so every public comment he makes still carries some extra weight. His latest division forecast adds another layer to that long-running split, especially with the Broncos, Chargers and Chiefs all part of the conversation and Las Vegas still trying to prove it belongs in the same tier. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans Wont Love Where Tom Bradys Latest Spotlight Chase Leads
Tom Brady has hardly disappeared since retiring, and for Raiders fans that has meant a steady stream of side projects, appearances and headlines tied to the franchises minority owner. He signed on with Fox Sports, turned up in a Netflix comedy special and recently hosted the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Los Angeles, another reminder that his post-playing life has been built as much around visibility as football.
The latest wrinkle is a public dust-up with internet personality Logan Paul, which added a little edge to Bradys ongoing spotlight chase. Even with the event drawing only modest attention, Brady keeps finding himself in the middle of conversations that stretch well beyond broadcasting and business, and the next one could pull him even deeper into a very different kind of entertainment lane. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans Finally Get Their First Look At Kubiaks New Offense
Raiders fans will get their first real chance to see Klint Kubiaks offense take shape when training camp opens for the 2026 season, with 11 practices scheduled before the games start to matter. Five of those sessions will be open to the public in August, giving the fan base a look at a coaching staff that has spent the offseason focused on installing a new system and getting the operation organized from the ground up.
Most of the open practices will be held at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, with the final one moving to Allegiant Stadium, a setting that should add a little more buzz to the end of camp. The interest is obvious: this is the first year of the new offensive system, and the early days will be about teaching it before the staff can really start shaping it around what the players do best. [Read more 🡒]