The San Francisco 49ers can seemingly always use an edge rusher. That is why it was a little surprising that they did not make a push for one of the best pash-rushers in football by trading for Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders at the trade deadline.
We all remember last season how the Niners made a big splash by trading for edge rusher Chase Young of the Washington Commanders. The trade did not work out perfectly, though, as Young was not as good as fans had hoped, but he did at least add depth to the defensive line.
In the offseason, the 49ers signed veteran Leonard Floyd to be the edge rusher opposite Nick Bosa. Floyd has done OK, but he has certainly not transformed the pass rush for the Niners.
San Francisco currently ranks in the bottom half of the league with 20 team sacks.
That is why the Niners should have made a move for Crosby. With the Raiders languishing at 2-7, they were in a prime position to sell at the trade deadline. They already got rid of wide receiver Davante Adams, so it seemed like Crosby was next to go.
Except... he did not go.
Crosby has 6.5 sacks in eight games so far this season, and he is coming off a 2023 campaign in which he had 14.5 sacks. He is widely regarded as one of the best edge rushers in the NFL and could have transformed San Francisco's own pass rush.
Just imagine opposing teams having to account for both him and Bosa. Those two together would have created all sorts of problems for opposing offenses.
Perhaps this was a case of the Raiders asking for too much in exchange for Crosby. Maybe general manager John Lynch was scared of the asking price and felt on the whole it would not be beneficial for the team.
Who knows? All we do know is that the 49ers have a lackluster pass rush going into the second half of the season.
Maybe Floyd will step up his game. Or perhaps Bosa reaches another level. No matter what, the Niners are going to need their pass rush to step up if they want their defense to play at its full potential.
Adding Crosby would have been a key boost to that effort, but he remains put and the 49ers must make do with what they have.