The Las Vegas Raiders have made some very good draft selections in later rounds recently. Hunter Renfrow is certainly one of those players who has become one of the best in the league at what he does, and another player who falls under that category is defensive end, Maxx Crosby.
Crosby is coming off far and away his best season in the NFL. While his sack numbers don’t stand out as he had just eight on the season, he was one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the NFL, racking up an NFL-high 92 pressures according to TruMedia, along with 30 quarterback hits and 13 tackles for loss.
With just one year remaining on his contract Vic Tafur of The Athletic reports that the Raiders have begun discussions on an extension with their star defensive end:
Contract extension talks have begun and are going well, according to league sources, and there is a very good chance Crosby will get a new deal before quarterback Derek Carr.
Edge rushers like Crosby are the types of players teams love to build a defense around. Crosby is such a disruptive force in the backfield that he makes life easier for the rest of the defense, and Raiders looking to lock him up long-term makes a ton of sense.
The question now becomes how much the Raiders are willing to pay Crosby in this new deal. The deal would likely start at more than $20 million a season, which would put him in the range of the NFL’s top pass rushers. Reaching the level of a deal such as TJ Watt’s with Pittsburgh or Joey Bosa of the Chargers is unlikely, but he wouldn’t be far off.
With Josh McDaniels taking over, the Raiders are looking to lock down the cornerstones of the franchise and ensure they will be around for the foreseeable future. However, while Carr could potentially get a contract extension this offseason, there are still questions surrounding whether he is the right guy at the position.
Crosby, on the other hand, has no questions as he already has shown himself to be one of the NFL’s best defensive linemen, and now he will be paid like one soon.
