This Team Sucks

Eight More Notable Trade Candidates For 2026​


The in-season trade deadline may have passed by a few weeks ago, but trade rumors are a 24/7, 365 kind of thing around here. If we’ve learned anything about the NFL in the past few years, it’s that teams are more willing to be aggressive and creative than at any point in a long, long time.

With time to mull things over and start to look ahead to 2026, there were more players who popped as potential trade candidates — beyond the list of eight who came up as first glance earlier this month. Here’s a look at another batch of big names who might end up on the move:

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby​

The Raiders have been turning down trade interest in Crosby for two years now, including at the trade deadline in both 2024 and 2025. But eventually if the league keeps knocking, perhaps the door will crack open — especially because it’s looking more and more like Crosby will be playing for his fourth different head coach in four years in 2026. Crosby has seen just one winning season in seven years in Las Vegas, and the Raiders look poised for another rebuilding year in his eighth.

So far, Crosby has elected not to push for a trade, saying that he wants to be part of bringing the glory days back to the Raiders. The team has done its part to make sure Crosby’s loyalty is rewarded, too, either signing him to a new deal or modified contract in three of the past four seasons. The most recent was a three-year, $106.5 million extension this past offseason, before he’d even played a down for HC Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek.

Ordinarily deals like that would preclude any trade because of the dead money left behind from signing bonuses and restructures. However, that’s not the case for Crosby. Trading him in 2026 would leave just $5 million in dead money and save the Raiders the entirety of Crosby’s $30 million guaranteed salary. It’s similar to the contract for Jets CB Sauce Gardner which didn’t preclude New York from dealing him just a few months after inking him to a market-setting deal. Teams took note of how the Jets structured Gardner’s deal and you can bet they’ve made the same observation with Crosby and the Raiders.

There are two ways Crosby could end up on the block. The first is if the veteran reaches his limit with all the losing and starts applying pressure on the front office to send him out of town. His leverage isn’t great with four years left on his contract; however, teams tend to want players who are bought in and want to be there. While Crosby can’t force a trade, his voice does matter in the situation.

The Raiders could also decide on their own that dealing Crosby makes the most sense for where they are as an organization. Crosby is a foundational piece — one of the league’s elite pass rushers and also one of the hardest working, highest-effort players in the building. That’s why the Raiders have rebuffed so much trade interest in the past and why Carroll and Spytek were willing to give him a massive deal before seeing him play a snap in their program. But the 2-10 record so far this year has exposed the vast multitude of roster holes the Raiders need to patch, and the front office has seemingly accepted that it’s facing a multi-year rebuild.

Crosby turns 29 next August and is still in his peak. The question the Raiders have to ask, though, is what he projects to look like in two or three years when they’re closer to being competitive. And in that scenario, does it make more sense to trade him for a haul of picks that could be used on players who would be contributors for longer?

This is the same calculus the Jets went through when they elected to blow things up at the trade deadline this past year. Like the Jets, the Raiders have a first-year general manager looking to make his mark. This is why teams are going to keep calling and giving the Raiders something to think about when it comes to trading Crosby, and at some point the team might just pull the trigger.

-NFLTRADERUMORS
 
Chris_77 said:
I'm not sure you can go into next season with JPJ anything more than lightly penciled in as a primary option.

Just too many question marks with him, IMO.

I'm curious where Maxx's head is going to be at if there's another coaching change as well, especially on his side of the football.
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I would just let Maxx make the call and respect his wishes if he wants to be traded to a contender. If he wants to tough it out and stay, then fine too.
 
RF34 said:
BPA vs Need

If you draft the BPA and your team sucks you should have drafted for need.

If you draft for need and that player sucks you should have drafted BPA.
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Usually I am BPA always. It tends to keep you from making silly reaches or from talking yourself into believing said player is better than he actually is because he fits your positional need.

That said, BPA means diddly if you don't have a QB. Bowers was an incredible BPA pick but he will be gone once his rookie contract is up if the Raiders cannot find an answer at QB. No way in hell is he going to waste his entire career playing in an offense like this.

So if you want to honor your BPA available picks in the draft, you better have a QB that make your team relevant....otherwise your franchise simply becomes one that develops young players for other teams. And in that case ....well, BPA only matters for those teams that will be feasting on your free agents when time comes.
 
signal said:
Usually I am BPA always. It tends to keep you from making silly reaches or from talking yourself into believing said player is better than he actually is because he fits your positional need.

That said, BPA means diddly if you don't have a QB. Bowers was an incredible BPA pick but he will be gone once his rookie contract is up if the Raiders cannot find an answer at QB. No way in hell is he going to waste his entire career playing in an offense like this.

So if you want to honor your BPA available picks in the draft, you better have a QB that make your team relevant....otherwise your franchise simply becomes one that develops young players for other teams. And in that case ....well, BPA only matters for those teams that will be feasting on your free agents when time comes.
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QB and draft OL and DL. They have $100mm in wiggle room to get a #1 receiver in here and some help on the back 7. Spend the fucking money.
 
Madturk said:
QB and draft OL and DL. They have $100mm in wiggle room to get a #1 receiver in here and some help on the back 7. Spend the fucking money.
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I’d spend the money on OL seeing how that seems to be the safest “big money” you can spend. Plus it will help our previous 2 1st round selections as well as protect Mendoza for us.

Other than that we are definitely going to need to spend some money on defense. As quite a few of the back seven will be gone next year.
 
raiderfreak7 said:
Worst case for me is we win a game or two to end up in draft purgatory with Moore/Simpson staying in school so no chance at a decent QB prospect and we end up with Pete/Geno in 2026.
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Absolutely have to keep losing not just
a) to get a QB but also
b) attract a promising candidates for the HC job

If no viable path for a QB, job will be considered a dead end for candidates

Mark Davis calling candidates “yeah, about our head coaching job, would you be willing to talk about it at P.F. Chang’s?”

Candidate: “click”
 
godeep811 said:
Absolutely have to keep losing not just
a) to get a QB but also
b) attract a promising candidates for the HC job

If no viable path for a QB, job will be considered a dead end for candidates

Mark Davis calling candidates “yeah, about our head coaching job, would you be willing to talk about it at P.F. Chang’s?”

Candidate: “click”
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Mark: “Meet me at Hooters, Jon. We need to talk.”
 
alteredst8 said:
I’d spend the money on OL seeing how that seems to be the safest “big money” you can spend. Plus it will help our previous 2 1st round selections as well as protect Mendoza for us.

Other than that we are definitely going to need to spend some money on defense. As quite a few of the back seven will be gone next year.
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Not a great crop of FA OL next offseason and teams don't typically let premier OL walk.
 
Madturk said:
Not a great crop of FA OL next offseason and teams don't typically let premier OL walk.
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The Bears made a few trades for offensive lineman that seem to have paid dividends. We might want to look at that route with all those mid round picks we have currently. It's probably the one unit where I think coaching is just as important as the talent though. Thank goodness we're solid there.
 
Chris_77 said:
The Bears made a few trades for offensive lineman that seem to have paid dividends. We might want to look at that route with all those mid round picks we have currently. It's probably the one unit where I think coaching is just as important as the talent though. Thank goodness we're solid there.
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We need a coach/GM that are on the same page and go get some shit done. So much of what we did this past year had stinky Pete's stench on it.
 
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