The Las Vegas Raiders have played their last game of the 2025 season, and we have our final NFL Power Ranking roundup to put a bow on the campaign. With the offseason and the Raiders’ rebuild in mind,
the national media continues to float the idea that Maxx Crosby could be on the trade block this offseason.
On an administrative note, a lot of the outlets that we’ve been keeping tabs on throughout the season didn’t publish a final power ranking or just focused on the playoff teams. So, we have a few new sources for this week’s column.
NFL.com
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
All signs point to the team drafting a quarterback this offseason after earning the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Raiders’ last-placed finish is a reflection of GM John Spytek’s failed Geno Smith trade from the 2025 offseason, but acquiring the veteran always seemed like a transitional move. And speaking of transitions, Vegas will have a new coaching staff in 2026 after the one-year Pete Carroll experiment fell flat. Now all the focus must be on finding a leader who can dispel a losing culture, shepherd a young quarterback and rebuild trust inside and outside of the organization. It could be a monumental offseason for the program, as defensive pillar Maxx Crosby and the team appeared to be on different pages by season’s end, with his future very much hanging in the balance. The Raiders could be a golden rebuilding opportunity, but it’s also a team fraught with issues and major decisions. — Eric Edholm
This won’t (or shouldn’t) play a factor in his decision, but Spytek already isn’t popular within Raider Nation after a rough first season on the job. Trading away the team’s most popular player certainly wouldn’t do him any favors in that regard. But Spytek has had the organization’s long-term vision since taking over last offseason, and it’s not his job to sell jerseys. Sometimes, you have to be the villain to emerge as the superhero.
The Athletic
31. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
What’s next: Trading Maxx Crosby
This relationship doesn’t feel fixable. After the Raiders put their star defensive end on IR last week, he posted videos of himself playing basketball and jumping on a trampoline. Crosby’s contract is very tradable, and it’d be nice for the wider NFL world to see him in the playoffs again at some point. — Josh Kendall and Chad Graff
Originally, the situation with Crosby getting shut down felt similar to Derek Carr’s situation a few years ago, where the defensive end left the Raiders’ facilities and wasn’t seen on the sideline during the Week 17 game. However, it’s encouraging that he was present last week, so it doesn’t seem like a completely broken relationship to me. That being said, the Pro Bowler clearly wasn’t happy with the organization’s decision, and who can fault him if he wants out after playing seven seasons and only appearing in one playoff game?
The Ringer
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
Head coach Pete Carroll is out in Las Vegas after an awful year. Nothing about this organization has improved since it made sweeping changes last offseason, and this team will have to find a new quarterback and head coach combination for the fourth consecutive year.
There’s an avenue to speed up this rebuild process through the draft—and it certainly helps that Vegas owns the No. 1 pick—but a complete reset probably means the team will need to trade away its best player, edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Crosby has never publicly asked to leave the organization, but being shut down before the end of this season could be a precursor to him being shopped for a high draft pick to help the Raiders build around their next quarterback. If Crosby becomes available, contending teams should clamor for his game-changing talent. — Diante Lee
Technically, Crosby asked for a trade if Antonio Pierce wasn’t hired as the full-time head coach a couple of offseasons ago. But that felt like more of a publicity stunt for his The Rush podcast, which started in Oct. 2023. Speaking of that, it’s interesting that he hasn’t come out and said something along the lines of: “I was frustrated with the decision to shut me down for the final two games, but I continue to be committed to the Raiders and winning in Las Vegas.” Recently, Jim Gray even asked Crosby on the Let’s Go! podcast about the situation, giving the defensive end an opportunity to make that statement.
CBS Sports
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
Pete Carroll is out and they have the No. 1 pick in the draft. There are big changes coming – and they are needed in a big way. — Pete Prisco
There isn’t too much to go on here, but there’s no denying that big changes are coming in Las Vegas over the next few months. On top of a new head coach, the Raiders have seven players who played over 50 percent of the team’s snaps and are about to have their contracts expire, per Over The Cap. That doesn’t include Geno Smith, Malcolm Koonce, Jamal Adams and Daniel Carlson.
Yahoo! Sports
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
The Raiders were supposed to be competitive this season. That’s why Pete Carroll was brought in. Instead, they were the worst team in the NFL. That’s why Carroll was fired after one year. The Raiders never seem to have a plan, and it’s hard to trust them to make the right hire to help whichever quarterback will be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. But the Raiders announced Tom Brady will be involved, which satisfies Mark Davis’ desire to have recognizable names associated with his team. — Frank Schwab
On this topic, I’ve been asked about Brady’s lack of experience as an executive and why fans should be confident in his abilities to pick a head coach after failing miserably in year one. To be honest, I don’t have a good answer for that question. However, ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler and Ryan McFadden recently published an article that might give Raider Nation some optimism.
“Interviews with 22 people in and around the team and the league point less to Brady as the cause of another failed year than continued dysfunction symptomatic of an impatient owner, a misaligned front office and coaching staff, and players who lost respect for their coaches. How the team will navigate it all is one of the defining questions of the NFL offseason.”
So, maybe Mark Davis getting out of the way is the key for the franchise to finally get the head coach decision right. Kahler and McFadden also reported that Brady wanted Ben Johnson badly last offseason (which was widely known last year), but Johnson took the Chicago Bears’ job before Las Vegas could make him an official offer.
