When the Las Vegas Raiders began considering trading superstar pass rusher Max Crosby, Cincinnati Bengals fans were supportive of the idea. Knowing Trae Hendrickson would be leaving in free agency, fans viewed Crosby as not only a good replacement, but an upgrade.
Blockbuster trades of this magnitude aren’t necessarily what the Bengals are known for, but after two years of a league-worst defense and Jamaal Chase publicly saying he wanted the team to land Crosby, some thought they could shock fans and pull it off.
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While he ended up with the Baltimore Ravens for two first-round picks, Albert Brill of Sports Illustrated reports that the Bengals did, in fact, call the Raiders about a potential Crosby trade.
“The Bengals, who were about to lose Trey Hendrickson in free agency, were another latecomer. By that point, more than a quarter of the league’s 32 teams had shown some level of interest in Crosby, while several others were less interested,” Brill wrote.
Breer also said the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears and obviously the Ravens were the most aggressive, but the Bengals at least checked in with Las Vegas on the trade.
With multiple teams showing interest, Raiders general manager John Spytek raised the price based on a simple supply and demand situation. In the end, he left with two first-round picks and a trade that shocked the entire NFL.
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If the Bengals were willing to offer the No. 10 pick plus next year’s first-round pick, Baltimore’s offer would be beat based on their possession of the No. 14 pick in this year’s draft. Realistically, the Bengals would never give up multiple first-round picks. That’s simply not what they do, and while they’ve changed a few things about how they operate over the years, this deal may be too lucrative for them.
The Bengals will reportedly still be aggressive on offense to improve their defense. They are expected to be active in free agency, which technically begins Monday at 4 p.m. ET. The NFL calls this the “legal tampering period,” so we’ll see a contract announcement that will be finalized on Monday.