By all accounts, this is an excellent offseason to need an edge defender, and that’s good news for Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots.
It’s rare for multiple franchise pass rushers to hit the market, but next week’s free agent pool will include some big fish like Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips, and Odafe Oweh. Add in what draft experts expect to be a deep and potentially fruitful 2026 class, and the Patriots should have options to fill one of their biggest roster needs, especially if they’re unable to keep their own pending free agent, K’Lavon Chaisson, from getting poached.
The name Patriots fans have been most interested in is Maxx Crosby, who remains under contract with the Las Vegas Raiders but wants out. The price for the 28-year-old is expected to be high — potentially in the neighborhood of the Packers’ trade for Micah Parsons last summer — and how serious the Patriots would be to pony up the draft capital and cash required to land Crosby remains a myster with the new league year looming.
With free agency set to arrive with Monday’s legal tampering window, fans might finally have the timeline they’ve been waiting for on a potential trade. According to FOX Sports insider Jordan Schultz, the Raiders have received legitimate offers for Crosby from multiple teams, but Vegas hasn’t yet engaged in a serious back-and-forth.
Sources: The #Raiders have received “multiple legitimate and strong offers” on Maxx Crosby, and it’s my understanding those teams are waiting to hear back from Vegas to initiate further back-and-forth.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 6, 2026
One of the teams involved told me they plan to pivot to the free-agent market… https://t.co/hnzzBVqZBP pic.twitter.com/ZqR0fdwhFh
Patriots may finally get Maxx Crosby answer before free agency
The Patriots are about to save significant cash when they make the Stefon Diggs release official, and how they go about reallocating those funds will be one of the biggest storylines surrounding the team.
They’re expected to be in on the top available wide receivers, as there’s already been a ton of buzz around their potential interest in signing Alec Pierce, or trading for A.J. Brown. Both would be major moves, as Pierce is expected to command around $30 million per year on the open market, and Brown will make $29 million cash in 2026 while likely costing significant draft capital to acquire.
Based on how the Patriots typically function, fans should expect to see either a big move at wide receiver, a pivot to Crosby — or none of the above. It’s highly unlikely that the team would do both, as in, trading multiple first-round picks for Crosby, and also paying market value to land the top wide receiver in free agency.
That essentially kills the Crosby dream, unless the Raiders begin engaging in trade talks over the weekend. By Monday at noon, when the legal tampering window opens, the Patriots will have likely already moved on. They have too much opportunity this offseason, and the talent pool is too rich at edge rusher both in free agency and the draft, to justify taking a wait-and-see approach with the Raiders.
Time will tell if New England is really one of the mystery teams involved in the Crosby sweepstakes. Patriots fans certainly hope that’s the case. But when names start flying off the board on Monday afternoon, it’ll be time for everyone to move on.