NFL Trade Rumors: $106.5 million Maxx Crosby emerges as potential Bills target amid Raiders trade buzz

The Buffalo Bills have a defense problem, and Maxx Crosby is being floated as the cure. CBS Sports listed Buffalo as a possible landing spot for the Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher this week. The Raiders started 3-0 and have dropped four straight. The Bills beat them 33-30 on Oct. 18, yet every one of Buffalo's four wins has come in a game where the defense allowed 30 or more points. Crosby's $106.5 million contract runs through 2029, so any deal would cost real money and real picks.Maxx Crosby emerges as a potential Bills trade targetCBS Sports writer Jordan Dajani pitched the idea in a column on trade landing spots. He opened with “Let’s get a little wild.” His case rests on the Bills' own numbers.Buffalo ranked first in points per drive at 3.13 after Week 6 and last in points per drive allowed at 2.76. The rest of the NFL went 8-42 in games where the defense gave up at least 30 points. Buffalo owns four of those wins, which flatters the record and hides the problem. Dajani wrote that “this Jim Leonhard defense needs some work.” Then he did the math on a fix: “Imagine pairing Greg Rousseau and Deone Walker with a talent like Crosby, and what that could do for this defense and team at large.”The metrics back up the fit. ESPN has Crosby eighth among qualified pass rushers in pass rush win rate at 27%, and sixth in run stop win rate at 32%, through six weeks. He helps on early downs and passing downs.Raiders may hold firm as the contract adds weightMoney is the first hurdle. Crosby's deal is worth $106.5 million, with $91.5 million guaranteed and an average of $35.5 million a year. His 2026 base salary is $30.0 million, plus a $10,880 workout bonus, for a cap hit of $35,802,130. That is star money, and Buffalo would take on all of it.Then there is the price in picks. Las Vegas wanted two first-round picks when it tried to move Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason. ESPN's Adam Schefter does not expect the Raiders to sell. “Maxx Crosby, the issue there is he means so much to that franchise. …Like, he’s an unbelievable player. I don’t think they’re getting two ones [first round picks]. And so maybe it just makes sense to hold onto him.”Still, Brandon Beane can afford one phone call. If Crosby is off the table, Buffalo loses nothing. If he isn't, the Bills learn the price before the deadline, and with a defense giving up points every week, that answer is worth having.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.