For much of the brief offseason, the speculation surrounding Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby's future has been red hot.
Crosby's future out in Vegas remains in doubt in light of yet another new coaching regime taking over in the desert, and there'd be no shortage of suitors if Las Vegas opts to trade off its best defensive asset for future picks and/or young players to help kickstart another rebuild.
Understandably, after finishing with a league-low 20 sacks last season, the San Francisco 49ers would be interested.
Of course, the Niners may not want to get into a bidding war, given their needs elsewhere. And in most cases, being patient to see how Crosby's market plays out could be a wise move.
Unfortunately, according to one report from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Crosby front may not only leave San Francisco in the dust, but it also might hurt head coach Kyle Shanahan's team within the division.
Albert Breer lists Rams (and not 49ers) as pursuers of Maxx Crosby
In his MMQB column amid the NFL Combine, Breer suggested a Crosby trade could happen in the very near future, subsequently listing a handful of teams that could be the most interested out of the bunch.
Of note, Breer didn't include the 49ers. That's not great.
Even worse, Breer included the Los Angeles Rams, one of the Niners' chief rivals within the NFC West:
"There’s also logic to the idea that it’s time for Crosby, who very badly wants to win, and the team, to move on. The Raiders will almost certainly have a rookie quarterback playing in the fall, and it could take a year or two to get the roster to where it needs to be. Would Crosby still be in his prime then? Would the Raiders be able to get the same price a year or two from now that they might bring home this week? ...
We should know soon enough which path the Raiders are taking, with teams like Dallas, Chicago, Baltimore, Buffalo, New England, Philadelphia and the Rams keeping tabs on his availability."
According to this scenario, not only would San Francisco miss out on adding a bookend pass-rusher to pair with Nick Bosa, but it would also face the daunting reality of squaring off against an already-good LA defense with Crosby now in the mix, too.
That's "doubleplusungood," using lingo from 1984.
Of course, should the 49ers miss out on Crosby, they'd obviously prefer him to land anywhere outside of the NFC West, preferably out of the conference altogether.
Unfortunately, at least according to Breer, there's a good chance that won't happen.