The San Francisco 49ers are one of the few teams with the money and motivation to hunt for the biggest game ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
According to The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia and Tom Pelissero, one player could do what the 49ers need most: solidify their status as Super Bowl contenders.
That player is Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby, whom the 49ers got an up-close-and-personal look at in their 38-17 win over the Raiders on Sunday.
“So I started looking at who is the team who should call the Raiders and be like, ‘We are ready now,’ and make the Godfather offer for Maxx Crosby,” Kapadia said on Monday. “I’m looking at the San Francisco 49ers. (Head coach) Kyle Shanahan has been trying to get over the hump for how many years? He keeps having good teams … but he hasn’t been able to get over the hump. Is this their screw it, let’s go for it moment with Maxx Crosby? Would (the trade offer) be a first-round pick and a second-round pick?
The 49ers are one of the few teams, financially, that can pull off a trade for Crosby, who is playing on a 3-year, $106.5 million contract extension and still owed $15 million over the final half of the 2026 regular season.
“There’s a very, very short list of contenders that even have that much cap space to take (Crosby) on,” Pelissero said on Monday. “The 49ers have $26 million in cap space. They’re one of the only teams that’s in it that could actually absorb the money Crosby is owed.”
Maxx Crosby: Never Played for Contender
Crosby signed a 3-year, $106.5 million contract extension with the Raiders before the 2025 season, then suffered through a 3-14 season in which he butted heads with the organization after he was shut down for the final 2 games of the regular season, ostensibly so the Raiders could secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
According to one report, at least 20 teams contacted the Raiders about trading for Crosby in the offseason before they pulled the trigger on a trade to the Ravens, sending Crosby there in exchange for 2 1st-round picks — a deal the Ravens later backed out of over medical concerns.
In seven NFL seasons since the Raiders drafted Crosby in the 4th round out of Eastern Michigan, he’s been a 5-time Pro Bowler and 2-time NFL All-Pro with 73.5 career sacks and 138 career TFL — a category he’s led the NFL in twice, in 2022 and 2023.
49ers Down Bad on Defensive Front
The 49ers have played most of the season without the two edge rushers projected as their starters this offseason: Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and 2025 1st-round pick Mykel Williams.
Bosa returned to play against the Raiders after missing five games with a calf injury and has zero sacks in the three games he has played. He’s also coming off a torn ACL that cost him the final 13 games of the 2025 regular season.
Williams, who is also coming off a torn ACL, missed the first four games of the regular season and has just 1.0 sack in the four games he’s played in.
49ers Urged to Make ‘Godfather’ Trade Offer for $106 Million All-Pro