The moment Tom Brady took over the Las Vegas Raiders, one thing became sure: only winning matters. When you have GOAT at the helm supervising a rebuild, there can’t be any compromise with Ws, right? But to pull a franchise like the Raiders out of mediocrity, only having the GOAT won’t do any good. You need to make certain sacrifices to get where you want to be. With that being said, are the Raiders possibly willing to give up their franchise icon for doing so? Like you know whom we are talking about: someone who has always expressed his desire to be a “Raider for life”—Maxx Crosby. 

See, Maxx Crosby has never asked to be traded out of Vegas. Yes, there’s the lingering disappointment with the constant changes of coaches and lack of success in his 6 seasons for the Raiders. But he was pretty optimistic when Brady gave him a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Pete Carroll. “From everything I’ve seen so far, it’s been encouraging. Taking it one step at a time and we’ll see how everything plays out, but I’m excited for the future, for sure.” Reading through the lines, it’s easy to guess Crosby is all in for the Brady era in Sin City.

However, let’s not forget hiring a coach doesn’t complete a rebuild. That’s what NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport pointed out, “The Raiders still don’t have a franchise quarterback and have a ton of work to do to field a competitive roster. Trading Crosby for a bounty of picks would be one way to expedite that process.” Well, since those rumors linking Crosby away from Vegas, the 27-year-old may have addressed his future with a cryptic tweet. “You Should Be Your Own Number 1 Fan…What You Believe Is What You Will Become. 🦅💎” Like it would be pretty harsh for the Raiders to use Crosby as a sacrifice in their rebuild. But if you really focus on Rapoport’s point of view, it’s actually a win for both parties. One Crosby gets a change of scenario, and the Raiders—weapons for the rebuild.

Since getting picked up by the Raiders in 2019, Crosby is No.1 in the league in tackles for losses (105), 5th in both sacks (59.5) and QB hits (144). And there’s also his 4 consecutive Pro Bowl honors while missing only 4 games in 6 seasons. So, there’s consistency, talent, hard work, and, of course, that will to win. Choosing to trade Maxx Crosby would at least earn the Raiders a slew of first and second-round picks. With those and a 6th overall, the Raiders can easily solve a number of issues in their roster. But obviously, they won’t have Crosby, who was supposed to be the face of this rebuild.

However, he might not be the only one who could leave the Raiders this offseason. Their assistant general manager, Champ Kelly, could also head out in the latest round of rumors swirling over Vegas.

Raiders’ Champ Kelly is set for a promotion elsewhere

You would have to go back to 2007 when Kelly earned his first job in the NFL. Joining the Broncos as their college scout, Kelly went on to serve as their assistant director of Pro Personel in his 8-year span. His team with Denver is fondly remembered for the four AFC West titles and a Super Bowl 50 he helped deliver. Then, Kelly moved on to pursue a new challenge in Windy City by joining the Bears as their Director of Pro Scouting in 2015. And yet again, in a few years, he earned a promotion to become their Assistant Director of Player Personel. Having served in numerous director roles, Kelly finally found his huge break by joining the Raiders as their assistant GM in 2022. But let’s not forget he was interviewed for the Broncos GM position before choosing to go ahead with the Raiders.

So, he already had franchises targeting him for their GM vacancy. And the moment the Raiders didn’t offer him the GM post even after sacking Dave Ziegler and Tom Telesco in little over 1 year. He is yet again getting linked with a GM position, this time in Jacksonville. Reports are circulating that the Jaguars are strongly considering Kelly as their next general manager. Now, you could say it might be a loss for the Raiders if Kelly does leave Vegas. But there’s a catch. Once the Jaguars hire Kelly, the Raiders would be allotted two compensatory picks, one in 2025 and another in 2026.

And that could certainly help them with their rebuild. Because right now, the only thing that matters for the Raiders is getting a roster ready for 2025. Otherwise, it would be yet another season of mediocrity for the city that never sleeps.