The Las Vegas Raiders are once again in the market for a new quarterback, and you can expect them to be more aggressive than Vegas' previous regime was last offseason. The duo of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell did not work out, so the Raiders will turn to either free agency or their No. 6 overall pick for a new signal-caller.
During a recent recording of his podcast, Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby revealed his pick for the Raiders' next quarterback, and it's one that may surprise you. Crosby wants Aaron Rodgers to join him in Sin City.
"First year after an Achilles is one of the hardest things to do," Crosby said, via Pro Football Talk. "I think with all the doubt, all the negativity around Aaron Rodgers, 'Oh, he needs to retire,' things like that, he's getting cut by the Jets, I think he's going to come back and have a -- I know he's 42 or 41, but I think he's going to have a big year this year, and I hope it's in our town."
Rodgers was able to remain healthy enough to play for New York last season after losing the 2023 campaign to a torn Achilles, but it was still a disastrous year that led to his release. The 41-year-old registered career-worsts in losses (12), yards per attempt (6.7) and passer rating (90.5). In all, Rodgers threw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw 500 touchdowns. His 28 passing touchdowns in 2024 were the fifth-most ever by a 40-year-old, behind four Tom Brady seasons.
Rodgers will be an option for Vegas, but it remains to be seen how high on that list of options the four-time NFL MVP is. New Raiders head coach Pete Carroll made it clear at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine last week that he's not looking for some kind of "grace period" where he can stabilize the organization. The goal is to compete now.
"Some really important aspects of the team have to come together, but they're going to have to compete their butt off to make this thing move forward," Carroll said, via the Raiders' official website. "It didn't work out quite right last year, I could give a rat's ass about what happened last year. I don't care about that one bit. What happened [in] those games, those matchups -- they mean nothing. It's what [we] are going to do with the next step we take.
"I'm trying to take this far as we can as soon as I possibly can. Why would we do anything but that? I'm not looking for a grace period or something cushy [like], 'Give me a few years to get things going.' I don't think that way at all."
