Eastern Michigan Professional Athletes

No Eastern Michigan alum has ever commanded this kind of NFL attention, and Maxx Crosby is making sure the Eagles' campus in Ypsilanti stays on the map heading into the most consequential week of the trade deadline cycle.

The five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher remains the hottest name in deadline conversations, with the Las Vegas Raiders sitting at 3-4 after a brutal four-game skid that followed a 3-0 start. The Raiders' slide has cracked open what was a firmly closed door just months ago — Las Vegas declined to move Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason, and Crosby himself has made clear he'd rather stay put. But contenders smell blood, and the Raiders' front office is at least fielding calls.

The Suitors Are Real

SportsNaut analyst Jason Burgos has identified five credible trade destinations, and two names keep rising to the top: the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys angle has been reignited multiple times by NFL insiders, with one noting that Dallas — itself a surprising 3-4 — could still mount an NFC East run and views Crosby as the kind of transformative piece that changes a playoff calculus overnight.

Then there's Detroit. The Lions storyline carries a weight the Cowboys one simply doesn't: Crosby is a Lapeer, Michigan native who played his college ball at Eastern Michigan before the Raiders made him a fourth-round pick in 2019. Former Detroit offensive lineman Lomas Brown has publicly pushed for the Lions to make a move, and a Heavy Sports analysis this week declared the Lions' chances "suddenly more possible" after a recent development. An NFL analyst has gone further, projecting a blockbuster trade that lands Crosby back in his home state.

Beyond those two, the Buffalo Bills have been named as a landing spot by CBS Sports, and the San Francisco 49ers have been floated as a buyer if Las Vegas keeps losing.

The Raiders Aren't Eager Sellers

Here's the catch: the Raiders are listening, but not leaning toward moving him. Multiple reports this week confirm Las Vegas is doing its "due diligence" without any real urgency to pull the trigger. An anonymous NFL GM weighed in publicly on Crosby's price, signaling that the market exists but that the Raiders' ask will be steep. Former Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito also got candid about the speculation, suggesting the situation is more complicated internally than the trade chatter implies.

Crosby's own message has been consistent through the losing streak — he's focused on winning, not on a destination. The Raiders' Week 8 game against the Jets loomed as a pressure valve: a win quiets the noise and gets Las Vegas back to .500; a loss deepens the spiral and likely accelerates front-office conversations before November 10.

Elsewhere for EMU

The Crosby saga overshadows everything else on the EMU alumni board, but one note worth logging: Patriots linebacker Jose Ramirez, who spent the preseason with the Eagles before landing in New England, was re-signed to the Patriots' practice squad this week after a brief roster move. Ramirez remains on the fringe of an NFL roster, working to stick in Foxborough.

For Eastern Michigan, the next ten days are unmistakably about one name. Whether Crosby stays in the desert or comes home to Michigan, the deadline will write the next chapter of the most compelling story any Eagle has produced in the NFL.

The NFL trade deadline is approaching, and Eastern Michigan's most prominent alumni story isn't about what's happening on the field — it's about what might happen next.

Crosby in the Eye of the Storm

Maxx Crosby, the Raiders' All-Pro edge rusher and the most decorated Eagle to ever come out of Ypsilanti, is at the center of a full-blown trade deadline circus. Las Vegas opened the season 3-0, then dropped three straight — including a Week 5 home loss to the Bills, 33-30, where Crosby was among the leaders being called upon to reverse the team's fortunes. He wasn't enough.

The losing streak has triggered a predictable chain reaction: front-office speculation, national media chatter, and multiple trade reports linking Crosby to playoff-hungry franchises. Heavy Sports reported that the Dallas Cowboys, with owner Jerry Jones eager to make a splash, have emerged as a predicted trade destination. Meanwhile, The Sporting News cited an NFL analyst keeping the Chicago Bears firmly in the conversation, noting that Chicago's pursuit of Crosby hasn't cooled despite complications in potential deal structures.

Crosby, for his part, has been vocal. After the Bills loss, he made his feelings clear publicly — frustrated with the team's inability to close games, with two of the three losses decided in the final quarter. Heading into a Week 7 matchup against a Rams team sitting at 2-4, Crosby sent a direct message to Matthew Stafford, signaling he's locked in regardless of the swirling noise. Yahoo Sports named him among the Raiders players who must step up if Las Vegas has any hope of snapping the skid.

The central tension is real: Crosby is performing his job. The defense's struggles are broader than one player. But on a team trending in the wrong direction, a star pass rusher with trade value is exactly the kind of asset that gets moved. If Las Vegas decides to shift toward a rebuild, Crosby — still in his prime — becomes the most logical trade chip on the roster.

Wylie Facing His Own Deadline Drama

Crosby isn't the only EMU alum with deadline-week relevance. Andrew Wylie, a guard for the Washington Commanders, is being projected as a trade candidate in the opposite direction. ESPN's Bill Barnwell identified Wylie as a likely sell candidate, projecting Washington to move him to the New England Patriots before the deadline. Sports Illustrated's Commanders coverage flagged the same ESPN proposal, framing it as part of Washington's broader roster evaluation. Wylie hasn't generated the same star-wattage headlines as Crosby, but if the deal materializes, it adds a second Eastern Michigan name to the week's most significant roster transactions.

The Bigger Picture

Two EMU alumni — one a franchise cornerstone being dangled in a potential blockbuster, the other a veteran lineman on the trade block in a quieter deal — reflect the full spectrum of the NFL deadline experience. For Eagles fans tracking the league, this is a week to pay attention. What happens to Crosby in the next 10 days could define Las Vegas's trajectory for years, and it started with a three-game skid that nobody saw coming after that 3-0 start.

Maxx Crosby Is Everywhere Right Now

Eastern Michigan's most prominent NFL export doesn't do quiet weeks. Maxx Crosby, the Raiders' star edge rusher, spent the stretch from Oct. 4–10 at the center of the NFL's biggest storylines — a heartbreaking close loss to the Chiefs, a round of trade chatter, a viral Mahomes revelation, and a Week 5 matchup that had New England's coaching staff openly worried.

The Chiefs Game

Las Vegas fell to Kansas City 30-27 on Oct. 4 at Allegiant Stadium, dropping the Raiders to 3-1. The loss stung, not least because a late comeback attempt fell just short. Crosby was candid afterward — one of the things that had defined Las Vegas through the first three weeks was its ability to generate pressure, and the Chiefs game tested that identity. Making matters more difficult: Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III, named Super Bowl LX MVP, was a significant factor in the outcome, and Crosby publicly acknowledged it after the final whistle.

Crosby also surfaced a detail from the game that made the rounds: he revealed that Patrick Mahomes audibly moans when he gets hit — a bit of locker-room color that spread quickly and added some levity to an otherwise frustrating week for the Raiders faithful.

Trade Noise

The offseason's Crosby-to-New England chatter refused to die. Reports confirmed that during the 2026 offseason, the Raiders shopped Crosby, with the Patriots offering a package that included two first-round picks. The deal never materialized. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the miss directly, and the failed pursuit reportedly even altered how the Baltimore Ravens approach their own roster-building — a sign of just how much weight Crosby's name carries around the league. A separate report clarified that the Raiders' most valuable current trade asset isn't Crosby anyway, suggesting Las Vegas views him as a cornerstone, not a chip.

Week 5: Drake Maye in the Crosshairs

With the Raiders heading to face New England in Week 5, the matchup everyone circled immediately was Crosby vs. the Patriots' offensive line and second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Boston.com's game preview flatly advised Patriots fans to keep Crosby away from Maye as a condition of winning. Yahoo Sports called him a "dominant force" and flagged the Raiders' pass rush as the central challenge for New England's protection unit. Crosby himself was direct in his pregame comments about what he intends to do to Maye — no bulletin-board hedging.

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Jose Ramirez: A Roster Shuffle in Foxborough

On the other side of that Week 5 matchup, Eastern Michigan linebacker Jose Ramirez had a turbulent week of his own. The Patriots released Ramirez from their 53-man roster earlier in the week, then — after he cleared waivers — quickly re-signed him to the practice squad. Ramirez, who spent the preseason with the Eagles before landing in New England, remains in the organization but lost his active roster spot. The revolving door keeps him in the Eastern Michigan NFL family conversation, if just barely for now.

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Two Eagles from Ypsilanti, two very different orbits this week — Crosby commanding the biggest stage in football, Ramirez fighting to hold a roster spot on the team Crosby is about to face. College football fans love a subplot, and EMU delivered one.