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In the legendary 1984 mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap” about a fictional British heavy metal band, there’s a scene in which the band’s guitarist explains how his amplifiers don’t go up to 10 — he’s modified them to go up to 11 — to seemingly tap into a new level of sound.
Even 40 years later, you can still refer to “turning it up to 11” as a pop culture reference and it hits home.
Headed into Week 8 and sitting atop the NFC East with a 5-2 record, it’s time for the Washington Commanders to “turn it up to 11” — something they could do with a trade for superstar Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.
You don’t have to be a super-invested NFL fan to understand that not only are the Raiders terrible, but they essentially waved the white flag on the 2024 regular season when they traded NFL All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets.
Staring down a stretch that includes 2 games against the 2-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the next 5 games, the Raiders are very much in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
That means even a player of Crosby’s caliber could be on the market. The Commanders would have 2 distinct advantages — they can afford it and they’re not in the AFC.
“I’m here to win now, wherever I’m going to be,” Crosby said on October 17. “… I’m not here to rebuild.”
What Trade for Crosby Would Cost Commanders
The price for Crosby would obviously be high. To start with, the Commanders would likely have to part ways with their 2025 first-round pick. After that, there’s probably some room to bargain but the cost could be the 2026 first-round pick as well.
It could be a deal similar to what the Los Angeles Rams pulled off when they traded for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey in 2019, sending 2 first round picks and a fourth round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There are only a handful of players in the NFL worth parting with a first-round pick for. Crosby is one of them. The Raiders drafted Crosby in the fourth round (No. 106 overall) out of Eastern Michigan in 2019 and he’s been one of the NFL’s dominant defensive players almost from the moment he stepped on the field.
Through his first 5 seasons, Crosby has 58.5 sacks, 98 TFL and 135 QB hits. He’s led the NFL in TFL each of the last 2 seasons and through 6 games in 2024 has 6.5 sacks and leads the NFL with 10 TFL. Crosby is also durable and has never missed a game in 5-plus seasons.
It’s also worth pointing out that Crosby is expensive. The Raiders signed him to a 4-year, $94 million contract extension in March 2022. If the Commanders make a move for him right before the November 5 trade deadline, they’d be on the hook for roughly half of the $25.3 million he’s due in 2024, plus $23.1 million in 2025 and $19.7 million in 2026.
Raiders, Commanders Headed Different Directions
The Commanders are a team on the rise — they finally have a superstar quarterback in rookie Jayden Daniels and a new approach to making deals with first-year general manager Adam Peters. They also have a new head coach in Dan Quinn, who made his name as a defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks then rebooted his career as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys the last 3 seasons.
Crosby has played in just 1 playoff game in 5 seasons — an AFC Wild Card loss following the 2021 season.
“It’s not like (the Raiders) are just a quarterback away,” The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz said on “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast on October 21. “… it would be great to see Crosby get to play some meaningful football.”
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