Maxx Crosby might want to go to a team that is capable of winning the Super Bowl. He has certainly been paid well enough to earn generational wealth, but he's come nowhere close to winning a title with the Las Vegas Raiders. Could that happen with the Indianapolis Colts? No.
Crosby isn't a free agent, and his contract with Vegas runs through 2029. He has no guaranteed money in his deal after 2026. The positive for the Raiders if they trade him is that they would immediately save $30 million. The problem is that they lose the services of the talented edge rusher with no replacement in sight.
Many sites will produce projected trade packages for Crosby this offseason. Very few of those will involve the edge rusher-needy Colts. Money isn't really the problem with Indianapolis, as the team could make a couple of moves (such as releasing wide receiver Michael Pittman and saving $24 million) and open up the space needed to acquire Crosby.
Indianapolis Colts have no chance of landing Raiders' Maxx Crosby in a trade
The issue is that in his attempt to go all-in during the 2025 season, general manager Chris Ballard gutted any chance of Indianapolis adding another key player via trade or in the first-round of the next two drafts. To get cornerback Sauce Gardner, Ballard gave the New York Jets Indy's first-round 2026 selection and its first-rounder in 2027.
Gardner is capable of greatness, and shutdown corners are extremely important. Football has other more important spots, though. Quarterback is the first, followed in no particular order by a top wide receiver, left tackle, and edge rusher. Cornerback might be fifth on the list, and the secondary was not the Colts' biggest problem last season.
Even when corner Charvarius Ward missed time with concussions, the cornerback group was fine. It was chasing down quarterbacks consistently, and inside linebacker coverage that were the worst problems. Adding a talent like Gardner was great, but not as needed as adding someone like Crosby.
The Indianapolis Colts simply do not have the draft capital now to add a player like Maxx Crosby. Most trade rumors have Vegas getting two first-round picks back for Crosby. He is worth that. Gardner was likely worth one, a mid-round selection, and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.
Instead, Chris Ballard acted like someone who had never pulled off a trade deadline move before. He gave up far too much for Sauce Gardner. The same issue for the Colts remains, though. The team doesn't have a good pass rush, a problem that adding Crosby would have gone a long way in fixing.