For years, the Raiders have leaned on Maxx Crosby to carry the edge rush almost by himself. He’s been the constant threat, the player offenses had to circle on the game plan, and too often Las Vegas had no real second answer when Crosby didn’t wreck the afternoon on his own.
That’s why this offseason mattered. Under second-year general manager John Spytek, first-year head coach Klint Kubiak, and newly promoted defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, the Raiders finally made a real effort to change the shape of that room. They signed former Indianapolis Colts first-round pick Kwity Paye, drafted Auburn pass rusher Keyron Crawford, and brought back Malcolm Koonce, who was supposed to be the No. 2 edge rusher opposite Crosby in 2024 before a knee injury wiped out his season before it started.
Paye is the headliner of that group. Spytek gave him a three-year, $48 million deal, a move that strongly points to the sixth-year Michigan product starting Week 1 across from Crosby.
The production is there in a broad sense: Paye has 30.5 sacks in his career, including back-to-back seasons with eight or more in 2023 and 2024. But his fifth-year option season was a step backward, and he finished with just four sacks.
That’s the tension with Paye. The upside doesn’t jump off the page, but the floor is real.
He brings experience, he brings production, and he brings a skill set that could fit what Leonard wants to do. Las Vegas also has Crawford in the mix, and his twitch, bend, and move set make him an intriguing first-year rush specialist.
The Raiders appear ready to rotate their edge rushers opposite Crosby rather than lock into one answer.
Koonce adds another layer. He’s back on a one-year deal and will be trying to put together a productive 2026 season, whether that leads to a bigger payday in Las Vegas or somewhere else when free agency opens next March. In that setup, Paye stands out as the veteran presence with the most established résumé outside of Crosby.
He isn’t the most explosive rusher on the roster, and he doesn’t bring the widest pass-rush menu either. What he does have is a long arm, speed-to-power, and the kind of physical style that can still win against pass sets. That’s the lane for him: use power, stay steady, and find a way back to the eight-sack level he reached before.
The Raiders and Leonard are hoping those traits show up more often in 2026, because they need Crosby to have help if this defense is going to look different across the board. There is some built-in flexibility if it doesn’t work out, with an out in 2028 that would save $15.7 million, or a restructure next year for $7.1 million.
That’s part of why Paye feels like one of the riskier signings on the roster. He may never become the 10-sack edge many expected when he came out of Michigan, and he doesn’t project as elite in any one area.
But he can still matter. If he plays to his strengths, he can help against the run and provide enough pressure to be useful as either a rotational piece or an average starter.
Could it work? Sure.
But it’s not hard to see why there’s skepticism. Even so, Paye is set up to be one of the most interesting players on the Raiders’ defense in 2026, for better or worse.
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The latest version of the rumor comes with a twist because it hinges on a player whose own future is still unsettled in Dallas. George Pickens recently got the franchise tag, but that has not stopped people from wondering whether the Cowboys could use him as part of a bigger swing for Crosby, which is exactly the sort of speculation that tends to linger when a star pass rusher is involved and no deal is actually on the table. [Read more 🡒]
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