The NFL Combine often serves as a reminder of how quickly careers and faces change. As prospects arrive this week to begin their professional journeys, fans revisited photos from seven years ago when a 21-year-old Maxx Crosby first stepped onto the Combine stage in 2019.
The side-by-side comparison between that fresh-faced defensive end and the version now entering his age-28 season lit up social media and football fans did not hold back.
“Playing for the Las Vegas Raiders will do that to ya,” a fan said.
“He grew his beard and added tattoos. Every Raiders fan knows this. How does this surprise you?” quipped one fan.
Future remains uncertain
The humor arrives at a moment when Crosby‘s name is attached to something far more serious than meme culture. His future with the Las Vegas Raiders remains one of the defining questions of the 2026 offseason.
Crosby walked out of the Raiders‘ facility ahead of their Week 17 game after being informed he would be shut down for the remainder of the season.
That decision, combined with years of organizational instability, fueled speculation that the All-Pro pass rusher could eventually seek a change of scenery.
During Super Bowl 60-week, Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer suggested that Las Vegas could command an even bigger haul for Crosby than the Dallas Cowboys received for Micah Parsons.
In that deal with the Green Bay Packers, Dallas landed two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
The comparison underscores Crosby‘s value. Drafted in the fourth round in 2019, he has become one of the few constants in a period defined by turnover in Las Vegas.
Since his arrival, the Raiders have made the postseason only once, a brief appearance in 2021 that ended after a single game. Despite the trade chatter, the organization has publicly signaled stability.
According to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, Raiders general manager John Spytek said he expects Crosby to remain with the team for the 2026 season. That stance tempers the speculation, at least for now.
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