The Chicago Bears might consider trading either wide receiver DJ Moore or defensive end Montez Sweat in the interest of substantial salary cap savings next season, so why not flip both for an elite edge-rusher ready for a change of scenery as he enters the back half of his prime?
Maxx Crosby was irate that the Las Vegas Raiders shut him down for the final two games of the season due to a knee injury. The Raiders’ decision to do so, then to fire head coach Pete Carroll after one season and go back to the drawing board with the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft all point to Crosby’s time in Las Vegas potentially coming to an end.
“My sense is this will likely lead Crosby to consider all of his options,” Albert Breer of SI wrote December 29. “He’ll be 29 by the start of next season and has a lot of mileage on his body after finishing each of the past three seasons hurt. His contract is tradeable, and the Raiders still look like they’re a couple of good offseasons away from contending.”
The Bears are ready to contend for a Super Bowl now and Crosby is exactly the type of player the defense needs. Meanwhile, Las Vegas would have runway with Moore and optionality with Sweat after the 2026 campaign.
DJ Moore Has WR1 Potential With Raiders Next Season
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore.
Moore, who turns 29 ahead of next season, has four years remaining on his $110 million deal and would walk into the Raiders’ locker room as the top wide receiver from Day 1 — a perfect complement to elite tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty (No. 6 overall pick in 2025) heading into his second year.
Las Vegas is a near lock to select Heisman Trophy winner and national champion quarterback Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana with the first pick in this year’s draft, so the addition of Moore would lock in a solid corps of skill-position players over the next three or four campaigns.
An overhaul of the offensive line like the Bears executed last offseason — which is easier said than done, to be fair — is all that might stand between the Raiders and a viable offense in 2026 with nowhere to go but up.
Bears May Be Able to Offer Raiders Best Personnel Return for Maxx Crosby
GettyPass-rusher Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Meanwhile, Chicago would move off $44.5 million in salary cap costs in each of the next two seasons ($24.5 million annually on Moore’s deal and $21 million on Sweat’s contract), opening room for Crosby’s $30 million base salary and $35.9 million cap hit to seamless slide onto the Bears’ books.
Crosby, who will play next season at 29, is on a $106.5 million deal that keeps him under contract through 2029. He is a two-time All-Pro who has made the Pro Bowl in five consecutive years.
Crosby has also led the league in tackles for loss twice (2022, 2023) and put up a career-high 28 tackles for loss last season, which was second behind only Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns. Crosby has tallied 69.5 total sacks in 110 games played across his seven-year career.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN projected in July 2025 that Crosby’s trade value was one first-round pick and then some. Crosby subsequently made the Pro Bowl, but also battled more injury issues and grew one year older.
If he wants out of Las Vegas and the Raiders can bring back a WR1 in Moore who can fill that role for the early portion of Mendoza’s career, plus a stop-gap solution off the edge in Sweat who put up 10 sacks in 2025 — that might be a better return than the franchise could hope to find anywhere else.
Bears Blockbuster Trade Pitch Flips DJ Moore, Montez Sweat for $100 Million Pass-Rusher