Eastern Michigan Professional Athletes

Eastern Michigan Alumni Report | NFL | Aug. 23–29, 2026

Maxx Crosby's name isn't just appearing in box scores anymore — it's dominating trade wire conversations, and not by his choosing.

The Eastern Michigan product and Raiders defensive end finds himself at the center of a growing storyline: Dallas Cowboys fans and analysts have floated Crosby as a prime trade target, with speculation intensifying in the wake of Ashton Jeanty's ankle injury shifting Las Vegas's outlook for the season. The thinking goes that a Raiders squad suddenly less optimistic about its 2026 ceiling might be more willing to move a marquee asset — and Crosby, one of the most disruptive pass rushers in football, would command elite value on any contender's market.

There's a significant caveat worth noting: according to The Sporting News, current evidence of an actual deal points only to outside discussion. No formal trade talks have been reported between the Raiders and Cowboys organizations. This remains, for now, a storyline being driven by observers rather than front offices. But in a league where trade rumors have a way of becoming self-fulfilling, the noise alone matters.

The broader cloud over Crosby's Raiders tenure is reinforced by a separate analysis from The Sporting News, which ranked Las Vegas among the lower-tier franchises entering the season despite Crosby's presence and Kirk Cousins's arrival at quarterback. One NFL analyst's read: that pairing simply isn't compelling enough to move the needle. That kind of institutional pessimism surrounding the franchise only adds weight to the question of whether Crosby — entering what should be a prime window of his career — is best served staying put.

For an Eastern Michigan program that rarely produces household NFL names, Crosby has always been the exception. A fifth-round pick who carved out Pro Bowl recognition through relentless motor and elite technique, he represents the high-water mark of Eagles football at the professional level. The prospect of him suiting up in a Cowboys uniform — or any non-Raiders jersey — would mark a significant chapter in both his career and the EMU alumni story in the league.

No other Eastern Michigan alumni generated notable headlines during this stretch. Sidy Sow (Texans), Andrew Wylie (Commanders), and Pat O'Connor (Lions) remain active on their respective rosters in non-featured roles, while Brian Dooley, Thomas Odukoya, and the rest of the EMU contingent continue their work in training camp and preseason evaluation periods.

The Crosby situation is worth watching closely. Whether or not Dallas ever makes a formal push, the fact that his name keeps surfacing in trade conversations is a signal — about the Raiders' trajectory, about Crosby's value, and potentially about what comes next for Eastern Michigan's most prominent NFL export.

Eastern Michigan's most prominent NFL export is generating headlines before a regular-season snap has been played — and not just because of his pass-rushing résumé.

Crosby Confirmed, But Sitting Out Preseason

After a tumultuous offseason that had Raiders fans holding their breath, Maxx Crosby is locked in as Las Vegas's premier edge rusher for 2026. Head coach Klint Kubiak confirmed that Crosby won't see preseason game action — a routine precaution for a player of his caliber, but notable given the noise surrounding him this summer. The Raiders are clearly protecting their most important defensive piece heading into the regular season.

The Kirk Cousins Saga

The more entertaining storyline from Ypsilanti's finest? His ongoing theatrical dynamic with his own quarterback. During joint practices with the Houston Texans, Crosby's physicality — along with the Texans' — drew a pointed reaction from Raiders QB Kirk Cousins, who bluntly told reporters: "Don't touch my arm." Cousins was visibly heated by the aggressive nature of the sessions, calling out both Crosby and the Texans for the rough contact.

Crosby, for his part, leaned into the moment. The Eastern Michigan product made a public joke at Cousins's expense that landed to mixed reviews, but it underscored the kind of personality that has made Crosby one of the NFL's most recognizable defenders. Whether it reads as locker-room camaraderie or a complicated chemistry question heading into the season depends on who you ask — but it's impossible to look away.

A Role Built for Disruption

Beyond the entertainment value, Crosby enters 2026 with a clear mandate: force turnovers in a Raiders defensive scheme that is leaning heavily on its front. A recent breakdown of Las Vegas's takeaway candidates put Crosby at the center of the conversation alongside linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. The Raiders' aggressive defensive identity runs through Crosby, and the expectation is that his pressure will translate into the kind of turnover production that flipped games last season.

Crosby on Von Miller

On a more reflective note, Crosby took time this week to publicly react to former rival Von Miller signing with the Dallas Cowboys. Crosby praised Miller and called him a mentor, offering a glimpse of the respect that exists beneath the competitive edge-rusher exterior. The comments highlighted how Crosby has evolved into a veteran presence in the league — a far cry from the fourth-round pick Eastern Michigan sent to Las Vegas in 2019.

The Bottom Line

Crosby won't play a preseason snap, but he's already one of the most-discussed players in the NFL's August news cycle. For Raiders fans, it's a familiar feeling — watching the kid from Ypsilanti command a stage that never seems too big for him. The Raiders are banking on that energy translating into wins when it actually counts.

Maxx Crosby: The Offseason's Most Talked-About Pass Rusher

Eastern Michigan hasn't produced many NFL stars, but Maxx Crosby has made up for it entirely — and right now, the Raiders defensive end is at the center of the league's loudest preseason storyline.

Crosby earned a spot on the NFL Top 100 this week, a peer-voted nod that underscores just how respected he is across the league. But the honor is almost a footnote compared to the trade drama swirling around him heading into the 2026 season.

Reports connecting Crosby to the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears have been building for weeks, and the noise only got louder this week. The Sporting News reported that the Raiders' GM addressed Crosby's trade status publicly — a notable escalation that signals the situation has moved well past idle speculation. That update was described as "ideal" for the Cowboys, suggesting Las Vegas may be willing to move its best player if the right offer materializes.

Bears fans got their own reason to pay attention. Per a separate report, the latest intel out of the Raiders' camp left Chicago's fanbase with reason to believe they remain in the mix. The Bears, in the middle of a rebuild around a young core, would represent an intriguing landing spot for a player of Crosby's caliber — though the asking price would certainly be steep.

Then things got genuinely weird. Nightcap show host Joe Johnson alleged that Crosby deliberately hit Kirk Cousins in a Raiders practice as a way to force a trade to Dallas — a claim that, if true, would mark one of the more brazen exit requests in recent memory. The Raiders haven't confirmed or denied the account, and it should be treated accordingly, but it added fuel to an already roaring fire.

Not long before all of this, Crosby gave what he called an "honest" reaction to a nearly completed trade to the Baltimore Ravens falling apart. According to Bleacher Report, Crosby acknowledged the deal came close but said the "vibes" weren't right — a candid admission that the edge rusher has been actively trying to find a new home. He ended up back in Las Vegas, at least for now.

On the field, Crosby's presence was limited in the Raiders' 27-14 preseason loss to the Cardinals — not unusual for a star pass rusher in August — but the situation bears watching as the regular season approaches.

Andrew Wylie: Opportunity Knocks in Washington

Crosby isn't the only EMU alum in the news. Offensive lineman Andrew Wylie, now with the Commanders, surfaced in a Yahoo Sports breakdown of candidates to replace injured left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Wylie's name appearing in that conversation speaks to the depth of Washington's OL uncertainty and the opportunity that could present itself for the veteran lineman should the injury situation persist into the regular season.

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For Eastern Michigan fans, the week was a reminder of how far the program's alumni can climb — and how complicated the view looks from the top.

The Fight Heard Across the Desert

Maxx Crosby's training camp didn't just make headlines — it made enemies. The Eastern Michigan product and five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher was suspended from team drills Saturday after getting into a physical altercation with Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins during Friday's practice in Las Vegas, a blowup that has put the franchise's most important defender at the center of an ugly storyline before a single regular-season snap has been played.

According to multiple reports, Cousins confronted Crosby after the defensive end repeatedly hit him during drills. What began as a shouting match escalated into a scuffle that required teammates to step in and separate the two. Head coach Klint Kubiak — in his first season running the Raiders — initially played it relatively cool, calling it part of "training camp," but reversed course by Saturday, holding both Crosby and Cousins out of team drills as punishment for violating team rules related to fighting.

Kubiak made clear he wasn't giving his star players a pass. That posture speaks to something real: a first-time head coach trying to establish that no one is above the program, not even the guy who is arguably the Raiders' most indispensable player.

Crosby's Own Admission — and the Trade Buzz Behind It

Crosby didn't exactly walk back his intensity afterward. He acknowledged publicly that he sometimes crosses the line by practicing too hard — a comment that reads either as self-awareness or as a non-apology apology, depending on one's patience for training camp theatrics.

But there's a harder edge to this story than a garden-variety camp fight. Bleacher Report noted that Crosby's return from knee injury has teammates genuinely impressed — describing his on-field explosiveness as "mesmerizing" — even as trade speculation quietly swirls around his name. And ESPN's Adam Schefter added the sharpest point of all: Crosby's commitment to Las Vegas may have an expiration date. Per Yahoo Sports, Schefter warned that Crosby's long-term buy-in with the Raiders is contingent on the team's performance — a significant signal from a player who has long been the face of the franchise.

The Unlikely Winner

Amid the chaos, one player caught a break: backup quarterback Fernando Mendoza. With Cousins sidelined from drills Saturday, Mendoza stepped in and ran with the first-team offense — an unplanned audition that The Sporting News flagged as a notable development in its own right. It's the kind of opportunity that rarely arrives by design, and Mendoza made the most of the opening.

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For Eastern Michigan fans, Crosby remains the most high-profile Eagle in the NFL by a considerable margin. The question heading into the 2026 season is no longer just whether he's healthy — it's whether he's fully invested in a Raiders rebuild that is still very much a work in progress, and whether Kubiak's cultural reset can hold together a locker room with real tension at its core.

The fight may be over. The fallout is just getting started.