A young 49ers fan may have done what a whole lot of NFL observers have been thinking quietly for months: he looked Maxx Crosby in the eye and made the pitch.
In a video that quickly spread online, the kid walked up to the Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher for a photo and then asked him to join the San Francisco 49ers. Crosby didn’t shut it down completely.
“I can't,” he told the kid. “But I still appreciate you doing your homework.
But you never know.”
That final line - “you never know” - is exactly the kind of thing that keeps the Crosby chatter alive in San Francisco, where edge-rushing help remains a need.
The trade buzz around Crosby goes back to the spring, when Las Vegas reportedly agreed to send him to the Baltimore Ravens for two first-round picks. The deal fell apart after Crosby failed his physical, sending him back to the Raiders with his trade value bruised and his future still in question.
San Francisco’s name has been connected to the conversation, though it’s not clear whether the 49ers are truly in the mix. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay floated a hypothetical deal that would send a 2027 first-round pick and additional Day 2 compensation to Las Vegas for Crosby, drawing a comparison to the move the Los Angeles Rams made when the NFC West rivals landed Myles Garrett this offseason.
Still, there’s no consensus that the 49ers should jump early. NFL insider Albert Breer recently said San Francisco should wait, let the season unfold, and avoid spending major draft capital too soon. His view was that the team should take a month or two to see how the roster looks, then circle back if the Raiders slide and Crosby shows he’s healthy.
And there’s no mystery about why Crosby keeps coming up. In 110 career games, the soon-to-be 29-year-old has posted 439 tackles, 133 tackles for loss, 164 quarterback hits and 69.5 sacks. He’s also made five straight Pro Bowl teams.
For now, the young fan has Crosby’s answer - and maybe just enough ambiguity to keep the dream alive.
In Other News...
49ers Suddenly Linked To A Brandon Aiyuk Trade With QB Stakes
Brandon Aiyuks situation has only grown murkier for the 49ers, with the receiver not having played since October 2024 and his status around the roster increasingly difficult to ignore. Once viewed as part of the long-term offensive core, he now sits at the center of a conversation that has less to do with production and more to do with whether San Francisco can still count on the relationship at all.
Into that uncertainty comes the kind of speculative trade chatter that tends to follow a disgruntled star, and it comes with quarterback implications attached. Any move built around Aiyuk would force the 49ers to think beyond the receiver room and into their broader quarterback plan, especially with Mac Jones future in San Francisco already pointing toward a short stay and a possible eventual hunt for a starting job elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Safety Battle Already Has One Newcomer On Shaky Ground
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Instead, the early read is that he has work to do just to stay in the conversation. Questions about his tackling, range and burst have made him a longshot for a regular-season spot, which leaves him fighting for a place in a crowded room that already has more established and higher-upside options. For now, the more realistic outcome appears to be another practice squad stint, unless he can change that evaluation before the 49ers have to trim the roster. [Read more 🡒]
One Under-the-Radar 49ers Addition Could Finally Settle Left Guard
The 49ers spent much of the offseason looking for reliable answers along an offensive line that has been in flux, and the left guard spot is still one of the cleaner training camp battles to watch. Chris Foerster has kept that competition open, with Robert Jones and Bret Toth among the names in the mix, while Toths value may stretch beyond one position since he is also expected to handle backup center duties no matter where he lines up.
For a team trying to make Brock Purdys life easier and keep the offense balanced around its established playmakers, that kind of stability matters as much as flashier additions on either side of the ball. Jones, in particular, has drawn attention as a low-profile pickup with the kind of experience and efficiency that can quietly settle a spot the 49ers have not fully locked down yet, even if the final call is still unresolved. [Read more 🡒]