At this point, it feels like Maxx Crosby's destined to play in the NFC North this year – it's just a matter of where.
And maybe that's being a little too presumptive/dramatic, but the Crosby trade rumors simply won't go away. Ever since the Las Vegas Raiders decided to tank – they're certainly not calling it that publicly, though – and trade Davante Adams to the New York Jets, there's been an endless stream of speculation about where Crosby, who's really the only other player of real interest on that roster, could potentially end up.
It's been an idea that's floating around Packers world for some time, especially as the team struggles to generate any sort of consistent pressure on opposing QBs.
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But thanks to Pro Football Focus, everyone thinks Crosby should head somewhere else in the division. And you guessed it! It's the worst possible destination.
Pro Football Focus thinks Lions should trade for Maxx Crosby and we super disagree
"It still seems unlikely that Las Vegas will move Crosby, but there's no better landing spot than Detroit. The Lions lost Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Aidan Hutchinson to a broken tibia/fibula in Week 6, which put a premature end to one of the best defensive starts in PFF history," writes PFF's Bradley Locker. "Crosby's 1.33 PFF WAR over the last three years ranks fourth among all edge rushers. Despite battling an ankle injury, he's still put together another impressive campaign."
[Deep sigh] Whatever man. I get that everyone loves the Lions this year, and everyone loves Aidan Hutchinson, and that the fit "makes a ton" of "sense." But this is a terrible idea; the Lions are fine. Case in point: in their first game without Hutchinson, they just so happened to hand the undefeated Vikings their first loss of the year – in Minnesota – and got four sacks from four different players in the process.
That seems OK to me. Crosby deserves to go somewhere that he'll be the star pass rusher, not just Another Dude who's splitting sacks with Josh Paschal.
This would be a nightmare for the Packers, but it doesn't have to be. We're all counting on you, Brian Gutekunst. We can't let Pro Football Focus win.