There\u2019s a reason the Patriots are being\u00a0touted by more than one insider\u00a0as a\u00a0realistic trade partner\u00a0for Crosby. They have room for the five-time Pro Bowler who\u2019s more dynamic than any other edge-rusher on the Patriots\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n
Crosby can take over games as a relentless force who keeps pressure on the pocket and is also a factor against the run. Opponents need special plans for Crosby or he\u2019ll make life a misery for opposing quarterbacks, like he did\u00a0when he got to\u00a0AFC West rival,\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers\u00a0starter\u00a0Justin Herbert\u00a0in Week 13.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas Raiders<\/p>\n
@Raiders<\/p>\n
Follow<\/p>\n
Maxx attack \ud83e\udd85<\/p>\n
#ProBowlVote + @CrosbyMaxx<\/p>\n
#LVvsLAC | \ud83d\udcfa CBS<\/p>\n
5:37 pm \u00b7 30 Nov 2025<\/p>\n
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This sack put Crosby among \u201c12 players in\u00a0NFL\u00a0history (since 1982) to record 7.0+ sacks in each of his first seven NFL seasons,\u201d\u00a0per Raiders.com columnist Paul Gutierrez\u00a0(h\/t\u00a0Raiders.com Digital Managing Editor Rachel Gossen).<\/p>\n
Numbers like those also place Crosby into a different bracket than New England\u2019s incumbent edge-rushers. Including Chaisson, who enjoyed a banner campaign in 2025, but he\u2019s a pending free agent already\u00a0linked to an AFC rival.<\/p>\n
![\"Raiders\u2019](\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Maxx-Crosby.jpg?w=1600&h=900&q=88\")
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Chaisson played his way into \u201ca significant salary increase,\u201d\u00a0according to ESPN\u2019s Mike Reiss. The latter also revealed \u201cChaisson shared his appreciation for being part of the Patriots\u2019 revival and its role in his career, saying ideally he doesn\u2019t want to leave but will trust in wherever the free agent process leads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Losing Chaisson would create a void at defensive end possibly compounded by fellow edge defender\u00a0Harold Landry III\u00a0potentially\u00a0undergoing offseason surgery.<\/p>\n
Landry and Chaisson led the pass rush last season, but a lot of their success could be attributed to the men in the middle.<\/p>\n
Christian Barmore Still a Cornerstone for Front Seven<\/strong><\/p>\n New England\u2019s defense became one of the league\u2019s best ahead of schedule because of Barmore\u2019s partnership with\u00a0$104 million\u00a0interior game-wrecker\u00a0Milton Williams.<\/p>\n He was the big get in free agency, but Williams was overshadowed somewhat by Barmore during the regular season. When No. 90 recorded a \u201ccareer-high 54 pressures, 3rd-most among all DTs, and a 13.6% pressure rate that ranked 2nd among DTs with 200+ rushes. And that\u2019s with teams sliding protection his way every week. Then there\u2019s Milton Williams quietly posting a 12.4% pressure rate, 3rd-best in that same group, despite missing time midseason,\u201d according to\u00a0Foxborough Fellas Podcast host Pete Collins.<\/p>\n Their dominance continued through the postseason, with opponents struggling to slide protection and double team both D-tackles. It\u2019s a dynamic the Patriots still need in order to stay strong defensively in 2026, even though Barmore\u2019s \u201cdue $10 million guaranteed if he\u2019s on the roster on the third day of the league year,\u201d\u00a0per Reiss.<\/p>\n Adding Crosby to the mix would make the Patriots terrifying up front, but it shouldn\u2019t come at the expense of Barmore. Keeping him and Williams together means head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Eliot Wolf can acquire more cost-effective edge-rusher and still get good results, the way they did with Landry and Chaisson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They weren\u2019t shy about making splash moves to instantly transform their defense last season, but the New England Patriots could make even bigger news in 2026, by… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":154937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n