The San Francisco 49ers certainly aren't strangers to having star players walk out of the building. Just ask head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch about their strained relationship with AWOL wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
At the same time, the Niners aren't the lone case of disgruntled players expressing frustrations with their employer. And some teams tend to have more of these issues than others.
Particularly the lowly Las Vegas Raiders.
With a mere two wins on the season and a likely post-2025 firing of head coach Pete Carroll on the near horizon, Vegas is staring hard in the face of yet another long-term rebuild. And that means trying to maximize both NFL Draft capital and positioning, putting an emphasis on "tanking" its last two games of the year in an attempt to secure April's top pick.
So, in light of reports from Fox Sports' Jay Glazer regarding Las Vegas' best defensive player, perennial Pro Bowl edge Maxx Crosby, it might make sense from the Raiders' perspective to shut him down for the rest of the season:
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
However, in light of the additional news about Crosby not taking the decision well, it's more than fair to think about how San Francisco can take advantage of Las Vegas' self-induced headache.
The 49ers certainly will, if they can.
49ers would love to pluck Maxx Crosby from Raiders (if they can)
The Niners have been linked to Crosby several times already, including last offseason, so his name coming up in potential trade rumors this spring wouldn't be too surprising.
As for the context, further interest is certainly there. San Francisco's woeful pass rush has mustered a league-low 18 sacks through 15 games, influenced heavily by season-ending injury losses to defensive ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams. And while the 49ers eagerly await both players returning, having a shot to add Crosby and his 10 sacks from 2025 would be a massive coup.
If anything, 30 other teams would probably feel the same way.
Of course, from the Niners' perspective, it'd be a hefty price tag, both in terms of draft capital sent back to Vegas and absorbing Crosby's more-expensive-than-Bosa contract worth more than $35 million, annually. Talk about some serious cap-space jockeying.
However, such a move would immediately turn San Francisco's defensive line from a chief weakness in 2025 to a lethal force in a year's time.
And, if the 49ers again viewed their Super Bowl window as wide open, it'd be a swing worth taking.