The NFC West has turned into a spending spree, and the 49ers are staring at a problem they can’t ignore. The Rams have loaded up on defense with Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie before Aaron Donald’s return, and the Seahawks still look like the reigning force in the division and the Super Bowl. That’s why NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger thinks San Francisco needs to answer with a major move of its own.
His answer: Maxx Crosby.
Speaking on 95.7 The Game, Baldinger said the 49ers are already in a battle they can’t afford to lose.
"You're in an arms race with the Rams right now," Baldinger said. "This is like a military arms race trying to keep up.
I don't know that Maxx Crosby is available or could be had, I have no idea. All I know is I was at the Sack Summit in Las Vegas a month ago, and nobody could beat him off the line of scrimmage.
Everybody challenged him - Jared Verse, pick a guy that was out there - nobody could beat him off the ball. Nobody.
He won, and they had an open competition, Maxx - I got it on video - he beat everybody off the ball."
Baldinger also pushed back on the knee concerns that previously derailed a potential deal with the Baltimore Ravens in the spring.
"I know Baltimore basically said that his knee is shot," Baldinger said. "I don't see it.
I failed a physical coming in after my sixth year, failed a physical, and played six more years. They said my knee was shot.
Everybody evaluates these things differently. But I feel like if you had a chance to get Maxx Crosby, he becomes your best defensive player immediately.
It's infectious, the way that he plays the game, the way that he practices. Shanahan's not going to beat him in the building.
On any given day, he'll beat everybody in the building. He's got the Michael Jordan mentality."
The price, though, would be steep. The Ravens once gave up two first-round picks, but that kind of haul feels out of reach now after the earlier trade collapse. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay suggested a package centered on a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick to land Crosby after the Rams’ Myles Garrett trade.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer took a more cautious approach, saying he liked the concept "in principle" but would rather see San Francisco wait and find out how its aging core holds up before shipping out draft capital. Crosby also comes attached to a three-year, $106.5 million extension with $91.5 million guaranteed, signed after the Baltimore deal fell apart.
Even with the cost, the fit is obvious. The 49ers need edge help now. Nick Bosa is still working back from an ACL injury, Mykell Williams is on the physically unable to perform list and will miss at least the first four weeks, and San Francisco’s edge options currently include a hobbled Bosa, 2026 rookie Romello Height, Sam Okuayinonu and Keion White.
Crosby would be expensive and risky. But if the 49ers want to keep pace in a division that’s getting more dangerous by the day, he looks like the kind of swing that changes the conversation.
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