“I’ll say it loud and f—ing clear, I want to be a Raider.” The resonance of Maxx Crosby’s declaration grew stronger after Mark Davis ended Detroit‘s pursuit of the 27-year-old defensive powerhouse. With one star Wide Receiver already shipped to the Jets, Davis wasn’t about to let another cornerstone leave Las Vegas.

“We’re Not Trading Maxx Crosby. Before Or After The Trade Deadline!!!” Davis fired off to ESPN, each exclamation point hammering home his stance. The message landed mere days after the Raiders dealt Davante Adams to New York, proving not every star carries the same weight in the Silver and Black kingdom.

The statistics paint Crosby’s value in black and white. His 6.5 sacks this season place him sixth among NFL leaders. Since they drafted him in the fourth round in 2019, he has racked up 58.5 sacks in 89 games and earned three Pro Bowl nods. Raiders minority stakeholder Richard Seymour captured the sentiment perfectly: “If I’m the Lions, I want to come get Maxx Crosby, too. Why wouldn’t they? He’s the heartbeat of our team.”

Teams kept probing, exploring every angle to land the defensive juggernaut. League sources told ESPN that inquiries continued pouring in this week. The Raiders‘ response never wavered – the same message Davis just carved in stone. Even internal team debates couldn’t crack open a door that Davis triple-locked.

For Crosby, the swirling rumors forced uncomfortable conversations. “I’m sitting here innocently and just doing what I do and I feel like I got to address it with my teammates,” he revealed on “The Rush with Maxx Crosby” podcast. “I don’t have 100% control and all that. But I want to be here.” Davis’s declaration transformed those worries into celebration.

Meanwhile, this turn of events has left one team disappointed!

Lions left searching for plan B

Detroit’s vision of bringing their native son home crashed into reality. The Lions, staggering from Aidan Hutchinson’s broken tibia, saw the Lapeer-born, Eastern Michigan-educated Crosby as their defensive savior. That dream died in Davis’s inbox.

Former Lion T.J. Lang’s recent radio take on 97.1 The Ticket now reads like wishful thinking: “I don’t think that hope is lost that Maxx Crosby is open to a trade. I’m not saying I don’t think hope is lost that the Lions are gonna go and get him.” Davis’s statement turned that hope into smoke.

NFL analyst Jacob Camenker had mapped out the perfect scenario. Accordingly, Detroit would land a pass-rusher matching Hutchinson’s impact. He is their fallen star who led the NFL in sacks before his “gruesome, season-ending leg injury.” Now league sources point to Cleveland‘s Za’Darius Smith as a potential consolation prize before the November 5 deadline.

The Lions’ defensive blueprint needs redrawing. Meanwhile, Raiders fans celebrate keeping a player who backed his four-year, $94 million contract with pure loyalty. “I’ve said that over and over and over again.” Some stories, it seems, are meant to stay in Vegas.