The Chicago Bears were rumored to be involved in trade talks with the Las Vegas Raiders' edge rusher Maxx Crosby, but did not land him the first time, and are once again attached to rumors after the Baltimore Ravens pulled out of the trade.
Crosby has gone on to share on social media that he is a Raider and shut down the trade conversations, disappointing many Bears fans. Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke with the media for the first time since the new league year began and talked about whether they were involved in trade talks with the Raiders.
"We’re always going to monitor every situation," Poles said via The Score's Chris Emma. "I mean, we checked into it and looked to see if it made sense, had some dialogue, but I’ll just leave it at that."
Ryan Poles confirmed checking in on Maxx Crosby
Since before the end of the regular season, the Bears have been linked to trade rumors involving Crosby and someone the Bears' fan base would love to have on their team. He's been to the Pro Bowl five times and has racked up 69.5 sacks during his NFL career.
Chicago is desperate for help with the edge rusher position, as they only got 35 sacks last season, with Montez Sweat leading the way with 10. The problem is that their second-highest sacker was Gervon Dexter at six, and he is a defensive tackle.
There were concerns about the edge rusher position with Dayo Odeyingbo only producing one sack in half a season, but once Austin Booker came back for the second half of the season, he got 4.5 sacks to make things a bit better there. The Bears must look at free agency or the draft to find an edge rusher, but with a lack of options that match what Crosby can do, the fan base keeps praying for a trade to happen, without giving up two first-round picks, of course.
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This is a topic of conversation that'll continue to happen throughout the offseason and potentially into the 2026 season. Bears fans hope Poles will keep the Raiders on speed dial and continue to see if they can make a trade for Crosby. A move like that would be a game-changer, especially for a Super Bowl-contending team like the Bears.