The Detroit Lions should offer the Las Vegas Raiders first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 for Maxx Crosby, FanSided’s Zachary Rotman suggested in a Friday column following Detroit’s 41-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.
Buffalo gained 299 yards and scored 27 points before halftime. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score.
The defensive problems did not start Thursday. Detroit allowed 410 passing yards to New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough in a 31-30 overtime win in Week 1.
Rotman’s proposed package mirrors a deal that already fell apart once.
On March 6, the Raiders agreed to send Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens for the No. 14 overall pick in the 2026 draft and a 2027 first-round selection. The Ravens backed out four days later, before the trade became official, after medical concerns surfaced during Crosby’s physical in Baltimore.
Crosby had undergone surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Rotman acknowledged the risk of sending two first-round picks for a player who failed a physical, but he pointed to how healthy Crosby looked in the opener.
Crosby recorded 1.5 sacks and two tackles in Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins. Pro Football Focus credited him with eight pressures and a 90.5 grade.
He also came off the field more than usual. Crosby played 82 percent of Las Vegas’ defensive snaps, and Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said resting him was his call.
Crosby told reporters Wednesday that he was fine with the workload.
“Something my guy, (performance coach) Tim Grover, I’ve been working with him for a long, long time now, and something he helped me the most with is, especially these last couple of years, just like mastering the art of being calm,” Crosby said. “You can’t press and be the best version of yourself. You’ve just got to do everything in your power to put yourself in that position to be the best version of you.”
“But also you’ve got to trust others and the ones that around me, like (defensive coordinator Rob Leonard) and my teammates and the guys that are going to war with me,” Crosby continued. “So that’s really where I’m at mentally, and felt great. And I just want to continue stacking days.”
The Raiders selected Crosby in the fourth round of the 2019 draft out of Eastern Michigan. He has made five Pro Bowls, and Sunday’s performance pushed him past 70 career sacks. He is only the third player in franchise history to reach that mark.
Last season, Crosby posted 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss. He carries a $35.8 million cap hit for 2026 on a contract that runs through 2029.
Las Vegas has given no public indication that it plans to revisit a trade. Shortly after the Baltimore deal collapsed, Crosby declared on social media that he was a Raider and was back. He turned 29 in August.
Should Detroit’s defense keep leaking points, the calls to Las Vegas could become more than column fodder. The trade deadline falls on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Raiders (1-0) visit the Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) on Sunday.
