Maxx Crosby Would be Cardinals Dream Target

The Arizona Cardinals are in desperate need of added juice on the defensive side of the ball after a sluggish start to the season.

Enter: Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby.

The Raiders - like the Cardinals - sit with a 2-4 record to begin the season, though the trajectories of the respective franchises couldn't be more different as Arizona is in the second year of their rebuild while Las Vegas is still searching for a clear direction for the future.

The Raiders appear very adamant they won't trade Crosby - ESPN's Adam Schefter recently said the organization didn't even entertain a first-round pick for their star pass rusher earlier this season.

“It’s unfortunate today, but there’s so much outside chatter that is not true,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said on the possibility of dealing Crosby.

“It’s not coming from any sources. It’s not coming from anything. My basic thing is never to answer all that stuff because, otherwise, you get trapped in this black hole. It’s just not happening.”

Yet Vegas held similar sentiments around star receiver Davante Adams before dealing him to the New York Jets recently.

Crosby himself almost two weeks ago said he didn't want to play anywhere else (via ESPN's Paul Gutierrez):

"You think I want to be anywhere else? No. I got this s--t tatted on my body. I don't want to go anywhere... it's just funny. You've got a lot of people that have a lot to say when they really don't know what's going on."

it would seemingly take a lot to get Crosby in a Cardinals uniform - and much like the title of this article - acquiring one of the league's top players is much closer to a dream than it is a reality.

Yet little players could arrive to the desert and provide an impact like Crosby could.

The two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler has registered at least 12.5 sacks in the last two seasons, establishing himself as one of the premier pass rushers in the league.

Recent opponent and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said it best:

"Maxx Crosby is a game-wrecker, to be quite honest with you. It starts there. You've got to minimize his impact on the game, particularly in one dimensional passing moments. And it's more than just wishing someone 'good luck' in terms of blocking them," said Tomlin.

Crosby has 5.5 sacks through his five games played thus far. He's also played in 17 games the last three seasons prior to 2024.

Production and availability is something Arizona's front seven has seen very little of through the beginning of the 2024 season - though its outlook concerns fans far beyond when the dust settles on the current schedule.

The Cardinals approached this offseason with serious question marks around their ability to get after the passer after a mere 33 team sacks last season. Arizona opted to fill other holes, banking on their top trio of BJ Ojulari, Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck all stepping up.

Ojulari is out for the season with a knee injury while Gardeck (3) leads the team in sacks with Collins (1) behind.

Arizona's top investments along an already questionable defensive line in Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols are done for the season due to injury. First-round pick Darius Robinson has yet to play in 2024 after beginning the season on injured reserve.

As of publish, the Cardinals are 29th in the NFL with a quarterback pressure percentage of 14.1%.

There's not a clear path to improving the defense, though acquiring a player of Crosby's stature would sure improve that unit overnight.

There's been plenty of trade chatter around the Cardinals potentially pursuing Haason Reddick, though only looking at the two situations in a vacuum, Crosby makes far more sense for general manager Monti Ossenfort to target.

Crosby (27) is three years younger than Reddick and is under contract through the next three years, as opposed to Reddick potentially hitting free agency next offseason.

According to Spotrac, Arizona would encrue cap hits of $16.8 million, $23.1 million and $19.7 million across the span of his remaining deal if traded. Las Vegas would eat close to $24 million in dead cap over the next two seasons.