The Indianapolis Colts beat the brakes off of the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5 of the NFL season. Arguably the most disappointing team in the NFL, Vegas dropped to 1-4 in the short-lived Pete Carroll era. On top of that, Geno Smith has been arguably the worst quarterback in football in a league that features a lot of subpar QB play.
It was glaringly obvious that the timelines of the Colts and the Raiders were about as far off as they could be when the two franchises faced off. The Raiders have some talented young players (see: Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers), but a massive overhaul is needed for the team to have any direction going forward.
This brings us to the subject of their best player, Maxx Crosby. Crosby is squarely in the prime of his career, at the very peak of his powers, entering into his seventh year in the league. This is a player that isn't necessarily out of time, but is at the point in his career where going to a winning situation sooner rather than later is starting to become a much larger priority.
The Colts will become Super Bowl contenders if they trade for Maxx Crosby
That's not to say that this iteration of the Indianapolis Colts can't compete for a Super Bowl as is. No reasonable person would make that assertion after watching the five games that Indy has played. They've shown that while they may not necessarily be favorites for a Super Bowl, they can hang with the elites in the NFL.
But, adding a player of Crosby's caliber to this team? That lands them staunchly inside the true Super Bowl contenders tier, whereas now they might be viewed more towards the fringes of that group.
With how the offense has been humming, the ceiling of this team is really only capped by their defensive play. Adding a defensive end of Crosby's caliber to play on the same defensive line as Grover Stewart, DeForest Buckner, and Laiatu Latu?
That gives the Colts a defensive trenches unit that has a case for being the very best in the NFL. While the secondary has question marks outside of reliable players like Charvarius Ward, Nick Cross, and Cam Bynum, having one of the premier defensive lines in the league to hang their hats on would go a long way in helping out the secondary.
After all, if a quarterback has no time to throw the ball, it really doesn't matter how good or bad the coverage is.
Of course, this idea sounds great in theory, but in practice, what would it take to pry Crosby away from the Raiders? After all, if they were to trade him, they'd expect to be paid handsomely. For a reasonable benchmark, let's look to the last elite edge to be traded in the NFL, one Micah Parsons.
Parsons was dealt from the Dallas Cowboys for the sum of two first-round picks and longtime standout defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Obviously, we have to take into account that the Colts likely wouldn't want to give up a player in this trade, and additionally, if the Raiders were to go this route, they'd probably prioritize picks over players, seeing as they would be headed deep into a rebuild.
Additionally, as of yet, Crosby hasn't requested a trade, while Parsons was threatening not to suit up for Dallas were he not traded. The Cowboys had a lot more motivation to deal with Parsons than the Raiders do with Crosby as of now.
Taking all of this into account, to pull off a trade of this magnitude, Chris Ballard would likely need to part with at least two first-round picks, and probably some icing on the cake on top of that.
In fact, it's possible he might even have to throw a third first rounder into the deal to secure Crosby's talents. That's a very rich trade, but this team is primed for a win now move. Ballard would be going all in on the 2025 Colts, and were this trade to happen there would be clear Super Bowl expectations in Indy.
Ultimately, it's unlikely this deal will materialize. Crosby has shown no signs of wanting out of Las Vegas despite their disappointing season, and in all likelihood he will remain a Raider for the foreseeable future.
Still, if he were to become available, the Colts should at least entertain the idea of trading for him. Some will love the idea and others will think it's too rich, but at the end of the day, it's up to the Colts to have the final say.