{"id":214482,"date":"2025-02-04T11:30:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T16:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=214482"},"modified":"2025-02-03T22:23:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T03:23:34","slug":"bills-rumors-buffalo-trade-las-vegas-raiders-maxx-crosby-2025-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/04\/bills-rumors-buffalo-trade-las-vegas-raiders-maxx-crosby-2025-nfl-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills Rumors: Buffalo Linked to Star DE Ahead of 2025 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Buffalo Bills went all-in to sign future Hall of Fame edge rusher <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/20\/von-miller-buffalo-bills-kansas-city-chiefs-nfl-2025-afc-championship-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Von Miller<\/a> in 2022. Three years later, it&#8217;s clear an aging Miller wasn&#8217;t the solution to the team&#8217;s pass-rushing woes and now it&#8217;s time for the front office to make another big swing. Enter <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/14\/lions-saints-crosby-trade\/\" target=\"_self\">Maxx Crosby<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Although a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for Crosby, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, would be costly, he&#8217;d finally give the franchise the game-changing defensive cornerstone it&#8217;s lacked throughout the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/17\/josh-allen-mvp-buffalo-bills-2024-nfl-honors-award-candidates-contenders\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Josh Allen<\/a> Era. It&#8217;s the biggest missing piece of the Bills&#8217; championship puzzle.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/nfl\/buffalo-bills\/news\/2025-nfl-mock-draft-buffalo-bills-trade-multiple-pro-bowlers-post-senior-bowl-mock-maxx-crosby-courtland-sutton-jayden-higgins\/cca489cb50bfc5d57c49f42f\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jarrett Bailey<\/a> of <em>Sporting News<\/em> linked Buffalo to Crosby and created a mock trade involving the Bills&#8217; first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bills trade: 2025 1st Round Pick, 2026 1st Round Pick, 2025 4th Round Pick, 2025 5th Round Pick<\/li>\n<li>Raiders trade: DE Maxx Crosby, 2025 4th Round Pick<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s analyze how the Bills reached this point and discuss whether the Raiders superstar could finally push the franchise past the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC arms race.<\/p>\n<h2>Bills May Target Raiders&#8217; Maxx Crosby in Blockbuster Trade<\/h2>\n<h3>Buffalo Must Move On From Von Miller<\/h3>\n<p>The Bills signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract in March 2022. It was a high-risk, high-reward attempt to fill their desperate need for a game-wrecker on the edge. Unfortunately for Buffalo, injuries appeared to sap any juice the now 35-year-old legend had left in the tank.<\/p>\n<p>Miller has recorded just 14 sacks in 42 appearances for the Bills. That figures includes no sacks in five playoff games since joining the franchise. He simply hasn&#8217;t shown much explosiveness since returning from a torn ACL suffered in 2022, and it&#8217;s hard to imagine him bouncing back in his late 30s.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Von Miller after <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Bills<\/a> loss to Chiefs in AFC Championship game: \u201cWe did everything in our power to win this game and it just wasn\u2019t for us\u2026 We\u2019ll be back.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BillsMafia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BillsMafia<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aU8C7CPAW3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/aU8C7CPAW3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; alex brasky (@alexbrasky) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alexbrasky\/status\/1883720653045633160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In turn, it&#8217;s time for Buffalo to head in a new direction. That starts with releasing the Texas A&amp;M product in the coming months. They&#8217;ll save either $8.4 million with an early-offseason release or $17.4 million if he&#8217;s designated as a post-June 1 cut, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/player\/_\/id\/7717\/von-miller\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spotrac<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The latter option seems more plausible, especially if the Bills plan to acquire an edge-rushing replacement via trade rather than free agency. General manager Brandon Beane can fill the team&#8217;s other needs with free agents and draft picks before using the June 1 money to land Crosby.<\/p>\n<p>Having Miller count $23.8 million against the salary cap next season would be a grave mistake by Buffalo.<\/p>\n<h3>The High Cost of Acquiring Crosby<\/h3>\n<p>Players with Crosby&#8217;s upside don&#8217;t come cheap. Bailey&#8217;s mock trade illustrates that, as the Bills give up their next two first-round picks along with a couple other draft selections. It may seem like a steep price, but Beane can&#8217;t afford to maintain the status quo on the edge. A bold move is needed.<\/p>\n<p>Crosby would certainly fit the bill. The two-time Second Team All-Pro selection has tallied 59.5 sacks in 95 career games. He posted a career-high 14.5 sacks in 2023. An ankle injury cut short his 2024 campaign but he still took down the opposing quarterback 7.5 times in 12 appearances.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I Will Be A Champion. \ud83e\udd85\ud83d\udc8e<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CrosbyMaxx\/status\/1885758338623029542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Michigan native is also under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/player\/_\/id\/29154\/maxx-crosby\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contract<\/a> through 2026. While it&#8217;s a hefty deal\u2014a cap hit of $28 million in 2025 and $24.8 million in 2026\u2014the contractual control still adds to the potential acquisition cost. That&#8217;s because there&#8217;s zero time pressure on the Raiders to move him this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, although the price is high, the Bills shouldn&#8217;t shy away. Getting close to the franchise&#8217;s first Super Bowl title is no longer good enough. It must be a championship-or-bust mentality moving forward. Landing Crosby is one way to significantly improve their chances.<\/p>\n<h3>Crosby to the Bills: Deal or No Deal?<\/h3>\n<p>Deal, at least from Buffalo&#8217;s perspective. Beane has attempted to keep the Bills in contention through a series of smaller moves in recent years. Some worked and some didn&#8217;t, but now it&#8217;s time to make another marquee addition. An elite defensive talent is sorely needed.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s fair to wonder whether two first-round picks is too much for a non-quarterback. The reality is, however, the Bills are going to pick late in the opening round every season Allen is healthy. In a perfect world, they won&#8217;t pick inside the top 10 again until about 2038.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it means Buffalo is constantly competing in the playoffs and giving itself a title opportunity. On the other hand, it&#8217;s hard to acquire prized prospects that late in the first round. You often have to find superstars in other ways, whether it&#8217;s trades or free agency.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Maxx Crosby gets to Lamar Jackson for the SACK \ud83d\udcaa <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M2wPVD2sMH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/M2wPVD2sMH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Raider Nation (@RaidersNationCP) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RaidersNationCP\/status\/1835366813997097096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Trading for Crosby would give the Bills someone who could cause headaches for Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and the rest of the AFC&#8217;s star-studded quarterback group. It&#8217;s a costly move, but also a necessary one.<\/p>\n<p>Buffalo has two options: pay the price for a high-end edge-rusher, whether it&#8217;s Crosby, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/browns\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Cleveland Browns<\/a>&#8216; <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/21\/myles-garrett-trade-rumors\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Myles Garrett<\/a> or someone else, or continue to fall short of its ultimate goal.<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bills must upgrade their pass rush this offseason. Could Buffalo use its first-round draft pick as trade bait to land an EDGE superstar?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5175,"featured_media":214677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,3],"tags":[177,7705,7399,5855,9527],"class_list":["post-214482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-bills","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-buffalo-bills-news","tag-las-vegas-raiders-news","tag-maxx-crosby","tag-nfl-trade-deadline"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214680,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214482\/revisions\/214680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}