The rumors were loud.
Maxx Crosby’s response was not.
As trade speculation intensified around the Las Vegas Raiders’ star pass rusher, Crosby finally addressed the noise — and he didn’t sound like a player preparing to leave. He sounded like someone who had already tuned it out.
Speaking Friday on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Crosby made it clear that the recent reports suggesting he wanted out of Las Vegas didn’t come from him. Not privately. Not publicly. Not at all.
“Now that I’m quiet, I’ve got random people making big statements for me,” Crosby said, sitting inside the Raiders facility in team gear. “For me, I just sit back and laugh because I know my truth.”
That laughter matters.
Over the past week, multiple reports suggested Crosby could be traded, fueled by the idea that the seven-year veteran didn’t want to endure another rebuild. Some even claimed he had a preferred destination, pointing toward New England and head coach Mike Vrabel.
Crosby didn’t dispute the existence of the reports.
He dismissed their relevance.
“I know when I go to bed at night, I’ve got a smile on my face because I don’t have to explain nothing to nobody,” he said. “All the noise — that’s news to me sometimes.”
Instead of addressing hypothetical trades, Crosby redirected the conversation to where his attention actually is: recovery.
Just a month removed from left knee surgery — his eighth surgery in seven years — Crosby described a routine that hasn’t changed despite the speculation. In the building by 6 a.m. Leaving close to 2 p.m. Rehab. Preparation. Repetition.
“That’s all I care about,” he said. “I’m getting healthy.”
That framing stands in contrast to how the story has been told externally. The trade chatter picked up late last season after the Raiders placed Crosby on injured reserve with two games remaining. The decision reportedly frustrated him, and his early departure from the building only fueled assumptions about dissatisfaction.
But frustration doesn’t always equal departure.
The Raiders are undeniably at another crossroads. They’re coming off a 3–14 season. They’ll soon introduce their third head coach in as many years, with Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak expected to take over after the Super Bowl. The roster is in flux — but so is opportunity.
Las Vegas holds the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and enters the offseason with over $91 million in salary cap space. From a team-building perspective, the situation isn’t barren. It’s unfinished.
Crosby’s production hasn’t dipped. He’s posted double-digit sacks in three of the past four seasons and led the league this year with a career-high 28 tackles for loss. If the Raiders did decide to trade him, the market would be aggressive.
That reality exists.
But Crosby isn’t engaging with it.
“I can’t control everything,” he said. “It’s all about perspective. I’m willing to run that marathon.”
That line may be the most revealing of all.
Rather than sounding exhausted by instability, Crosby sounded resolved. He didn’t demand clarity. He didn’t ask for assurances. He didn’t posture. He talked about patience — and process.
In a league where silence is often interpreted as leverage, Crosby’s quiet feels different. It doesn’t sound strategic. It sounds intentional.
He knows the speculation will continue. He knows his value makes rumors inevitable. But right now, Crosby isn’t campaigning for a move or defending his loyalty.
He’s rehabbing. He’s working. He’s waiting.
And while the NFL debates where Maxx Crosby should be, he’s already decided where he is — in the building, early in the morning, focused on what comes next.
Everything else, he says, can keep talking.
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