Heading into the 2025 regular season, the Las Vegas Raiders figured to be a completely different team than the one that had just finished 4-13 a year prior. After all, they were the only franchise that was heading into Week 1 with a brand new quarterback, running back, and head coach.
Advertisement
Well, the Raiders are now holding a 2-13 record with just two weeks left in the season, and as far as the front office is concerned, the season is effectively over and will be deemed a failure. As a result, the Raiders have reportedly asked that their star pass rusher, Maxx Crosby, be shutdown for the year. The only issue, however, is that Crosby wanted to continue.
Scoopage: Raiders told Maxx Crosby they want to shut him down last two games. Crosby, who has played with injuries for much of the year, vehemently disagreed and has left the building @nflonfox has learned. This could lead to questions on his future in Vegas
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) December 26, 2025
It’s no surprise to see a team try to protect their top tier players when there is nothing left to play for. In fact, this time of year is notoriously rough for fantasy football fans, as they are forced to navigate the numerous benchings that occur throughout the final two weeks of the regular season.
Nevertheless, Crosby clearly wants to finish his 2025 campaign, and should the Raiders continue to prevent that, then they may just end up driving the five-time Pro Bowler right out of town. According to the host of the Raiders Report by Chat Sports, Mitchell Renz, however, while keeping Crosby should be the franchise’s biggest priority, winning these final two games would make that more difficult than anything else.
“To Mark Davis, to Tom Brady, to Raiders ownership, I know you don’t believe in tanking, but do you believe in the idea of having to potentially trade away 98 if you win meaningless games? I just want you to think about it. I know you care about money, Mark, and winning against the Giants and winning against the Chiefs will cost you millions upon millions of dollars.”
In the eyes of Renz, missing out on a top-five draft pick would put the Raiders in an incredibly detrimental spot where trading Crosby away makes more sense than not. The only issue with, however, is that the man himself wants to compete and win games.
Suffice to say, the Raiders seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place here. If they allow Crosby to compete and end up winning, then they will have less capital to rebuild with, and they may even need to trade him in order to acquire some of the capital.
On the other hand, if you shut him down and prevent him from competing, then he may just be frustrated enough to demand a trade anyways. It’s a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t dilemma, which, ironically enough, is pretty fitting for a town that has made its name off of gambling and stacking the odds against tourists.
There’s no telling what the future may hold for Crosby, but one thing is for sure, and that’s the fact that, much like the cards and chips out in Las Vegas, any and everything will be on the table come this off season.
