As rumors fly at the NFL combine about the future of star defensive end Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek did his best to downplay the noise.
Predictably, Spytek’s session at the podium Tuesday morning at the combine was dominated early by questions about Crosby trade talk. Spytek said he does expect Crosby to remain in Las Vegas.
“I do, yes,” Spytek said when asked if he anticipates Crosby to be with the Raiders in the 2026 season.
“Maxx is an elite player and I’m very upfront that we’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them. It’s hard to build a great team without elite players.”
Spytek said he speaks with Crosby a lot and they have a great relationship. He said he is comfortable with how Crosby is feeling about his future. The trade speculation surrounding Crosby, of course, started after he was upset at being shutdown for the final two weeks of the season. Crosby has also been frustrated by constant rebuilds and coaching changes.
So, Spytek publicly saying he believes Crosby is comfortable with the team is important. A reporter said Crosby wants to be part of a contender and asked Spytek if he thinks the Raiders, who finished 3-14 last season, can be a contender. Spytek said he knows the team, that has a lot of resources this offseason, will build the roster the right way and there are plenty of recent examples of fast turnarounds in the league and see what happens.
Yet, Spytek also didn’t completely shut down the trade talks. He never said concretely that Crosby will return just that he expects him to. His last question on podium was if Crosby is untradeable, his response was this: “We’re always listening, man.”
So, while what Spytek said Tuesday morning can be looked as a positive, his words likely won’t turn down the noise of the Crosby trade speculation and it may have been a message to other teams that if they want Crosby, the Raiders want to be blown away by offers.
In other topics Spytek addressed:
- When asked if the team would be open to trading the No. 1 overall pick, Spytek kept the same tone: “I learned a long time ago, always listen. I’m always listening.” It’s likely of course, that the Raiders will use the top pick on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Spytek said he saw him play in person last season. As expected, Spytek wouldn’t commit to taking Mendoza, he was asked what he is looking for in a quarterback. “A leader, tough as hell, somebody that loves to play football, maniacal preparer.” Spytek said he isn’t a fan of rushing a young quarterback onto the field early. So, Mendoza may not play right away. Spytek also said Raiders’ part owner Tom Brady will be a great resource any quarterback that comes in.
- One of the things Spytek is excited about having new head coach Klint Kubiak as that his system highlights players strengths. For example, when asked about second-year wide receiver Jack Bech, Spytek said he believes in Bech as a player and Kubiak will move his receivers around the field to utilize their talents.
- Spytek said the promotion of Rob Leonard to defensive coordinator was Kubiak’s decision. But he did say he told his new coach they had a great defensive line coach on the staff.
- Asked if third-year player Jackson Powers-Johnson will play center or guard, Spytek said the five best offensive linemen will play. He did say he’s a fan of Powers-Johnson and Spytek pointed out 2025 third-round pick Caleb Rogers has been in the building daily this offseason.
- Spytek was asked if he thought if the NIL influence has hurt the draft process. He said he likes it because teams now know how players handle having money. It was an interesting point.