The Las Vegas Raiders have had a solid start to the season, but they still seem to be a few pieces away from realistically contending. With that in mind, there has been speculation that the team could want to sell some pieces at the trade deadline.
The most obvious piece to sell would be defensive end Maxx Crosby. They already tried to trade him once before the season, and he’s likely their most valuable asset.
In the offseason, he had requested a trade, but ended up changing his mind. That hasn’t stopped the talk about other teams around the NFL trying to trade for him. From Crosby’s perspective, he wants to stay in Las Vegas going forward.
“I love being a Raider. I’ve said that a million times,” Crosby said Wednesday. “This is where I want to be. Super excited, obviously for the present, but also for what’s to come.”
The Raiders also don’t seem too keen on trading him. If a team wants Crosby, they’re going to have to give the Raiders an offer they can’t refuse.
Crosby Likes Where Raiders Are Headed
For much of Crosby’s career, the Raiders haven’t had a clear direction. They’ve gone through many different coaching staffs.
So far, new head coach Klint Kubiak seems like the real deal, and Crosby is confident the team finally got it right.
“I’m not thinking too far down the road. I’m being present,” Crosby said. “We’re 4-4. We’ve got a really good football team. I love this locker room. I love the guys. We have great leadership. Klint [Kubiak] is a really good coach. We have Robby [Leonard], who is a first time being a DC. He’s doing a hell of a job. We’ve got a lot of new faces, new pieces, a lot of young guys as well.
“I love where we’re going. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We know that. That’s the beauty in it. Everyone can say whatever they want. We had this conversation last week [after a 35-21 loss to the Rams], and it was like the world is ending, and now it’s all these positive vibes. For us, it’s about focus about this week, today, getting better. That’s the mindset of this whole team. I’m excited about everything.”
Brock Purdy Is a Big Fan of Kubiak
Kubiak has been in the NFL for a long time, but perhaps his most impactful stint was his one year with the San Francisco 49ers. Since then, he got two separate offensive coordinator jobs before getting the Raiders head coaching job.
Quarterback Brock Purdy only had one year with Kubiak, but the coach left a strong impression.
“He was the man. Love Klint,” Purdy said, via Raiders.com. “And obviously it was cool, like sort of having his coaching experiences and stuff and how he viewed the game sort of mixed with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and what I had known for the one year that I was here. And then when Klint got here my second year, him bringing his worldview of football in and a lot of his sayings and stuff we actually still use in our quarterback room with footwork and eyes and sayings and stuff. But, obviously love who he is as a person and the way he came about work every single day. … I’m really happy for him and for the position that he’s in. I want nothing but the best for Klint. He was always real with me. He coached me up well and so I’m really just happy for him. Love him to death.”
Maxx Crosby Issues Strong Response to Raiders Trade Rumors