Maxx Crosby Reveals Whether He Would Ever Leave the Raiders for Greener Pastures

Maxx Crosby signed on for three more years with this Las Vegas Raiders project this offseason. He’ll be getting paid $106.5 million over the course of the contract, which ranks as the sixth-biggest deal for an edge rusher in the league. And that makes sense: he’s recorded the fifth-most sacks (59.5), fifth-most QB hits (144), and the most TFLs (105) in the NFL since entering the league in 2019.

He’s also a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler. But unfortunately, he’s been a lone bright spot during a dark stretch of Raiders football. He was there during the ugly end of the Jon Gruden era, the brutal Josh McDaniels run, and the short-lived Antonio Pierce period. However, things are looking up now, which is likely why Crosby agreed to the extension despite a 4-13 record last year.

He hasn’t had great luck with coaches, but that could change in 2025 with veteran Pete Carroll coming to town. Crosby has a deep appreciation for coaching and coaches themselves. The tatted edge rusher even gushed about Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay on his podcast recently.

“[Sean] McVay is similar. I wouldn’t say he’s a nerd. But McVay is another guy, like super young, everyone’s like, ‘Aw, no f*cking way, he’s gonna be a good head coach.’ That dude is a savant. And the players love him. Every guy I’ve talked to on the Rams loves Sean McVay,” Crosby said.

It’s high praise. Almost too high. So high that Raiders fans might have shifted uncomfortably in their seats watching him say all that. That is, before Crosby clarified that his feelings for McVay are strictly on a personal level, not on a professional one. Not “in a million years” could the DE conceive of donning anything other than the Silver and Black.

“I’m not even—I could never in a million years would ever imagine myself leaving the Raiders or anything like that. He would never be my coach, but I love Sean McVay. Every time I’ve been around him. Every time I’ve talked to him. I ran into him at a restaurant one time, he’ll take all the time in the world to sit there and talk to you, ‘how’s your family,’ and all.”

Carroll could not be more different than McVay when it comes to football, but it sounds like they’re a little similar in that they know how to create real bonds with their players. McVay seems like a computer, but he relates to his players. Same with Carroll, but a little different.

Carroll’s not a computer, but he is 73 and old enough to be the grandfather of some of his players. And yet, he is also considered a player’s coach who always gets good reviews from his charges.

With Carroll at the helm and Tom Brady hovering around as part of the ownership group, the Raiders seem properly stable for the first time in the Las Vegas era, which started in 2020.

With Crosby, 2024 breakout rookie tight end Brock Bowers, 2025 No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty, and a revitalized Geno Smith at QB, this could be Crosby’s best year with the Raiders yet. That extension he signed could look very smart in retrospect.