By Mummy Grace 
Lions fans, brace yourselves: Pete Carroll may have just dashed Detroit’s hopes of landing Maxx Crosby.
For most of the 2024 NFL season, the idea of the Detroit Lions making a blockbuster trade for Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby seemed like a real possibility. After losing several key defensive players last season, the Lions were in a position where trading future assets for Crosby—one of the league’s premier pass rushers—could have been a move worth considering for a playoff push. But alas, that trade never materialized, and fans have been holding on to the hope that the Raiders, still far from playoff contention in the AFC West, might be willing to trade Crosby in the near future.
However, in a recent press conference, new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll put a definitive end to that speculation. When asked about the future of his team and their stars, Carroll made it clear that Crosby wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Maxx, send the message, man,” Carroll said on Monday. “We’re coming after you. We’re going to find you guys and get this thing rolling as soon as possible. With the highest of expectations and a mentality that will drive high performance in a way that, hopefully, everyone’s going to hear us. And they’re going to know us.”
Well, that’s a punch in the gut for those dreaming of a Crosby-Aiden Hutchinson duo in Detroit. While there’s always the chance that Carroll is just bluffing to drum up trade value for Crosby or to encourage teams to offer more picks, it sounds like he’s committed to keeping the Raiders’ star rusher in the fold. It would be strange for the Raiders to keep Crosby around for a press conference and then ship him off just months later—though, of course, stranger things have happened, especially with a team like the Raiders.
So for now, the dream of seeing Crosby line up alongside Hutchinson in Detroit remains confined to your Madden franchise. But hey, don’t let Carroll’s words completely crush your optimism—after all, it’s the NFL, and anything can happen.