The Las Vegas Raiders haven't necessarily been a well-oiled machine over the last two decades and the LA Chargers have had an entertaining front-row view of all the chaos. It doesn't matter what the Raiders try, they always seem to muck it up, much to the delight of Chargers fans.
That's why even in an offseason full of promise headlined by likely first overall pick Fernando Mendoza and new head coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders are finding ways to make it messy. Star edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who has been the heartbeat of the organization in every sense of the word, has emerged in trade rumors over potentially being disgruntled with the team.
Crosby has done his part to quell the trade rumors to this point, but where there is smoke, there is often fire; Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer just added a whole lot of gasoline to the flame.
Breer emptied the notebook about what he is hearing around the Crosby situation and the source of the potential dysfunction is a surprising name that general NFL fans know all too well: Alex Guerrero. Breer broke down how Tom Brady's former Patriots trainer may have played a role in shutting down Crosby to end the 2025 season:
"There's a lot of fence-mending that's going to need to happen if the Raiders are going to hang on to Maxx Crosby," Breer said. "It goes all the way to the top of the organization with Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero. The way the communication happened with the injury in December left a mark," Breer writes.
"He was part of communicating the Raiders' decision, and why they made the decision to shut him down in December, which really angered Maxx [...] But the communication of it got fouled up. And a lot of people in that building report to Alex Guerrero now, and Alex is seen as the eyes and ears of Tom Brady internally."
Chargers may no longer have to deal with Maxx Crosby on the Raiders
The Raiders simply can't have nice things, and we wouldn't want it any other way. This is an offseason that should be filled with promise and instead, it's filled with drama that could absolutely bleed into the 2026 season and have negative ramifications for the Raiders.
And if it doesn't, that means the Raiders traded Crosby, which is equally as beneficial for the Chargers. Either way, the Bolts (and the rest of the AFC West) are the clear winners of this dysfunction between Vegas and its star player.
The Raiders have the most cap space in the league, the best draft capital in the league, and a roster that already includes offensive standouts in Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers. With Kubiak and Mendoza in tow, the Raiders should be successful pretty soon.
But that's the same story Raiders fans tell themselves every single season. There's always a shiny new coach or an exciting new quarterback to get behind and it always goes up in flames. The Crosby situation is just another reminder to Chargers fans of what the Raiders are, and that there really should be no concerns until they buck the trend.
That being said, the Chargers better hope Vegas doesn't trade Crosby to a contending team in the AFC. The Raiders almost definitely won't trade within the division, but they will trade within the conference if the best package they receive is from an AFC team. That could have serious ramifications on a Chargers team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations next January.
It won't make the Raiders any better, though. And knowing how Vegas operates, the team will likely muff the picks it receives in a Crosby blockbuster anyway.