The rumors connecting the San Francisco 49ers to Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby are heating up and it makes sense why. After the Los Angeles Rams traded for Myles Garrett, it’s only natural to want the Niners to make some sort of corresponding move.
They would be wise to exhibit patience and wait until the season to explore a trade, though.
The Raiders don’t seem like they are rushing to trade Crosby. After the deal with the Baltimore Ravens fell through, it seems like both the Raiders and Crosby are fine with keeping the relationship intact.
For now… that is.
Things can change very quickly in the NFL. Today’s certainty is suddenly not so certain in a couple of months. The Raiders would probably have to be blown away by a trade offer for Crosby to pull the trigger on a deal right now, so that’s why the Niners should just wait.
It’s easy to want the sugar rush feeling of doing something now, but the front office would be wise to wait and see how good this 49ers team actually is eight games into the season. Maybe the Niners aren’t as good as we think they are, or their travel schedule messes them up and derails the season.
If that’s the case, then they could come to regret a deal for Crosby, especially since he is owed a lot of money and there are legitimate concerns about his knee. The 49ers could really kick themselves by jumping the gun.
That’s why San Francisco should wait.
Let the season develop and give the young guys a chance early on. Mykel Williams and Romello Height have a lot of promise, so the 49ers should give them a fair chance to prove they belong in the NFL and can be impactful players.
If Height doesn’t work out as planned, and the Niners find themselves in the same position they were last year at the deadline where they are a contender and need edge rusher help, then they can kick the tires on a Crosby trade. That way they know for sure that the 2026 Niners are a team worth going all-in on.
General manager John Lynch decided that last season’s roster was not worth going all in on. While it was frustrating, it was probably the prudent move because the 49ers were so banged up that adding Trey Hendrickson or some other star edge rusher probably would not have made enough of a difference and would have cost a lot of draft capital.
The Niners have made enough runs to know which teams are legit and which aren’t. They’ll know through eight games if they are a team capable of making a run or not, so they’d be wise to stay calm and not overreact to the Garrett move if they do choose to pursue Crosby at some point.
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