Sportsnaut
There’s a version of the Maxx Crosby trade conversation that keeps recycling every couple of weeks, and most of it is noise. The San Francisco 49ers are interested. The Eagles might be interested. Someone on a podcast said, “nuclear hot.” And now we’re supposed to treat all of this as if something is actually happening.
David Lombardi covers the 49ers every day for The San Francisco Standard. He addressed the chatter on YouTube last week, and he wasn’t subtle about it.
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“Nobody is denying that the 49ers are interested in Maxx Crosby,” Lombardi said. “However, we have known that for months. They’re interested in all these great players, and some of them, yes, they will trade for them. But for outlets to act like something is imminent just because they aren’t getting enough clicks because it is June 17 is absolutely exhausting.”
That’s worth sitting with. This is not some Raiders beat writer protecting the home team. That’s a San Francisco reporter telling the rest of the NFL media to stop manufacturing a story.
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Lombardi went further, explaining why any realistic deal window probably won’t open until after the season starts anyway.
The 49ers need more information about their own roster before committing to a trade that would cost them over $30 million in cap space this year alone. Crosby’s 2026 cap charge sits around $35.8 million. Lombardi specifically noted that San Francisco added seven players this offseason for a combined hit of $33.3 million, which is less than Crosby’s salary alone. That’s the context the breathless trade speculation tends to skip.
There’s also the knee. Baltimore had a deal for Crosby that included first-round picks and they still walked away after Crosby’s physical raised concerns about the meniscus surgery he had this past winter. That raised medical flags no team has fully resolved yet and it’s going to be a factor in any serious trade conversation. Albert Breer at SI said he doesn’t see anything happening before Week 1 either and his read tracks with Lombardi’s. The price for Crosby, the cap and the unknowns around his health make this a deadline conversation if it happens at all.
John Spytek has been consistent that Crosby stays. Klint Kubiak’s defense is built around him. Rob Leonard is scheming to make him the centerpiece. The Raiders were willing to listen in March when the Ravens offered the right number: that much we know.
But the current market isn’t that market, and no team appears willing to meet that asking price right now. Training camp opens in late July. That’s when the real information starts...
