Tuesday at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis launched the podium portion of the annual NFL gathering. Coaches and GMs faced the media, both local and national, in sessions that typically ran about 20 minutes. With player workouts not kicking off until Thursday, it was the most official action going on in Indy.
To get to the podium area, media must first traverse across the radio row setup, and that’s another great place to glean some kernels of knowledge. The bad weather on the East Coast kept many insiders and prominent media--and agents--from getting to Indianapolis until Tuesday, so the buzz in the Indy nightlife has remained pretty low compared to normal.
Here’s what I’ve gleaned from the first days in Indy…
The Raiders sure don’t sound interested in trading Maxx Crosby
One of the anticipated major dominoes to fall in offseason player movement centers around the Las Vegas Raiders and star pass rusher Maxx Crosby. A frustrating end for Crosby to a miserable Raiders season left everyone expecting the highly-paid star to be on the trade market, even if Crosby himself has never publicly asked for a trade beyond a vague longing to play with other superstars.
Raiders GM John Spytek told anyone who would listen, from radio row setups to the broad podium audience, that everyone should expect Crosby to remain a Raider. Here’s what Spytek said when asked about Crosby’s future,
“Maxx is an elite player, and I’ve been very upfront from the start when I got here that we’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them. It’s hard to build a great team without elite players.”
The veteran Combine media attendee in me instantly shifts to skeptic. Of course, that’s what he’s going to say, that’s building trade value for Crosby! That sentiment is difficult to dismiss, but there is a growing understanding that the Raiders genuinely believe that Fernando Mendoza, who will be the No. 1 pick, can quickly elevate them from perennial afterthought to contender.
As Spytek noted, that’s a lot easier to do with Crosby on the roster. He’s still just 28, and the Raiders have already swallowed the worst part of his contract. Crosby is locked in for $35.5 million a year average value through the 2029 season, which could wind up being below his market value if a healthy Crosby gets back to being a top-3 EDGE--which is the expectation.
Fans in many other cities aren’t going to like it, but right now, I would expect Crosby to be back in Las Vegas in 2026. Unless Crosby himself demands a departure, it seems increasingly unlikely the Raiders voluntarily sell him off for picks.
The Bears sure do sound interested in trading backup QB Tyson Bagent
One of the most interesting (to me) oronouncements from a podium came from Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles, who revealed that the team has already received calls inquiring about the availability of backup quarterback Tyson Bagent. That’s an intriguing development for the Bears and Bagent, who has played well in limited looks but has no potential to ever start in Chicago with Caleb Williams ahead of him.
Just last summer, the Bears felt strongly enough about Bagent to sign him to a two-year extension. That’s a significant commitment for an undrafted QB from D-II power Shepherd, who was perhaps more well-known for being the son of an arm wrestling legend than being a viable QB prospect. Bagent has outperformed several QBs that were more well-regarded in the 2023 NFL Draft, and that makes him an appealing option for teams not exactly enamored with the draft options this year (more on that below)...
Watch the podium clip here from Johnson (via my old friend Lorin Cox), and tell me that’s not a resignation that the Bears aren’t keeping Bagent. You can’t do it:
Ben Johnson doesn’t want the Bears to trade QB Tyson Bagent but acknowledges that they have to do what’s best for the team
— Lorin Cox (@CoxSports1) February 24, 2026
He believes Bagent is one of the best 32 QBs in the NFL pic.twitter.com/OwGJVVYr8M
Bagent is under contract through 2027 for an affordable $5 million per year, though he’s a fool if he doesn\\\'t demand a renegotiation the minute he’s traded. The Bears could recoup some draft capital if they do indeed decide to set Bagent free and remove their nice insurance behind Williams.
The NFL might dislike this QB Draft class more than the media does
It’s pretty easy to sum up the draft media’s opinion of the quarterbacks in the 2026 class. There’s Fernando Mendoza, who is probably worthy of a No. 1 pick but lacks the fanfare and pulse-raising factors of recent No. 1’s like Caleb Williams or Bryce Young (though I grade Mendoza higher than both). And then, well, hmmm, sigh…
Alabama’s Ty Simpson, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and maybe Drew Allar from Penn State have the potential to be selected in the first 50 or so picks, probably none before about 30, however. They’re all in the draft realm of the Kenny Picketts and Will Levises of the NFL world, players whom teams must talk themselves into loving. The deeper prospects, the sleepers, are mostly not buzzing enough to wake anyone up before Round 7, though the Cole Payton hype gang is certainly trying to fluff up the lefty greenhorn from North Dakota State.
Most of the talk about quarterback solutions centers around the free agents like Malik Willis or Daniel Jones, or potential trade targets like Bagent (see above), Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa. The latter two are failed experiments across multiple regimes with their drafting teams, which doesn’t exactly drum up a lot of enthusiasm either. But demand far exceeds supply, as is customary in the NFL. Willis, traded to Green Bay in 2024 for a throwaway 7th-round pick when the Titans were set to cut him, just topped the NFL’s own free agency rankings and could command upwards of $40 million a year.
Nothing against Willis, who has played in Green Bay more like the third-round prospect out of Liberty that he was in 2022 than the guy the woeful Titans quickly discarded. But the lack of any faith in the draft class behind Mendoza is propping up those contract values and trade talks.
Quick Hits
• Several coaches and execs took some podium time to talk about Vikings WR Rondale Moore and his tragic suicide this week. Moore struggled through many injuries that derailed his NFL career, and they contributed to him taking his own life. It’s something that many of us in the NFL media have talked about as well, noting that we can all do better in maybe handling chronic injuries with a gentler hand. I, for one, will try.
• One early player/team connection that popped up in a couple of different conversations in Indy: Cincinnati and Auburn DL Keldric Faulk. That’s a little higher than expected for the precocious Faulk, and he seems positionally redundant with Cincinnati’s 2025 first-rounder, Shemar Stewart. Faulk offers outstanding size and football character and appears to be a decent athlete, but that hasn’t yet produced a lot of impact plays on the field for the 20-year-old.
• Jets GM Darren Mougey indicated that the team is prepared to use the franchise tag on RB Breece Hall, if needed. The tag value for a running back hits at $14.18 million for one season, fully guaranteed. Sure sounds like both sides would prefer to get a deal done, however.
• Another team/player pairing that has been whispered this week: LSU CB Mansoor Delane and the Rams, who hold the No. 13 pick thanks to Atlanta’s trade last draft. Delane continues to get the most buzz as CB1, though that’s far from decided.
• Players I’m hearing the NFL is lower on that draft media expectations (pre-testing):
LT Overton, EDGE, Alabama
Mikail Kamara, EDGE, Indiana
Austin Barber, OT, Florida
Jadon Canady, CB, Oregon
Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
• Players I’m hearing the NFL is higher on that draft media expectations (pre-testing):
Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame
Emmitt Johnson, RB, Nebraska
Charles Demmings, CB, Stephen F Austin
Josh Moten, CB, Southern Miss
Eric O’Neill, EDGE, Rutgers