The Lions’ impressive blowout win over the Cowboys was ultimately marred by the gruesome leg injury of their star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson was having the best season of his career with a league-leading 7.5 sacks. He was also the betting favorite to take home the Defensive Player of the Year award. Now that Hutchinson is out for the season with a fractured tibia, could Detroit, as Super Bowl hopefuls, look to add another pass rusher before the November 5th trade deadline?
Potential Trade Targets
The NFL saw its’ most active day for trades so far this season on Tuesday, with the likes of Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, and Cam Akers all being dealt. With the trade deadline less than three weeks away, it is reasonable to assume that the Lions won’t want to wait very long to address the gaping hole in their pass rush left by Hutchinson’s absence. The question then becomes: who should Detroit target that actually makes sense?
Maxx Crosby is a name that has been thrown around by multiple sources. Although the price to pry Crosby away from the Raiders would likely be a 1st-round pick, it is not that unreasonable to envision that offer appealing to Detroit. They are, after all, expected to be picking near the end of the first round in 2025. As a team with not many glaring needs to address in the draft, it might not be too outlandish for them to surrender a first-rounder in order to boost their chances of winning a Super Bowl this season.
Even still, Detroit could opt for a cheaper option, such as the Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen or the Panthers’ Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney would obviously be the cheapest, albeit least impactful, of the three options. Yet another option that appears to be all too convenient is Haason Redick, who reports suggest that the Lions have already reached out about. The Jets previously granted Redick permission to seek out a trade in response to his holdout which has lasted since the preseason. Detroit’s need at pass rusher could be a perfect opportunity for the Jets to finally move off of Redick.
Would Trading Crosby Make Sense for the Raiders?
The Raiders have already committed to building for the future, as was evident when they traded Davante Adams to the Jets for a conditional 3rd-round pick. Their roster is one of the weakest in the league, with Crosby being one of the few bright spots. However, with as many needs as they have, finding a way to acquire a second 1st-round pick would be ideal, especially seeing how it seems likely that they will select a quarterback with their first pick.
Whether it ends up being Crosby, Redick, Hines-Allen, Clowney, or someone else, the Lions should feel compelled to bring in somebody to reinforce their pass rush as they attempt to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy and first NFL Championship since 1957. Adding someone of Crosby’s caliber would also make for a ferocious future pass-rush pairing whenever Aidan Hutchinson is able to return to game action.
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