Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Was the Caleb Williams-Maxx Crosby lovefest actually a troll job?

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris shared their takeaways from Bears quarterback Caleb Williams' appearance on Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby's podcast.

This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3 The Score, and I have joked about this, and I've not tried to egg it on because the situation builds upon itself. I feel like every NFL offseason, the NFL world falls in love with a player who might be available. And we know, given the crown, given him the sash, the flowers, Max Crosby is that dude this offseason. And the best part is he's not even a free agent. We get to talk about him in a trade capability. That's what makes this so wild. There's always somebody.

He is the player of this offseason. I think the best part of it isn't necessarily that portion of it. It's the fact that he's fully leaning into being the man of the moment in every single way. I've seen him as a guy who said, I'm not saying anything, but yet you're out here saying a lot of things. He's playing the game really, really well. I used to joke about Bryce Harper flirting with Chicago whenever he was a free agent. And that's your time. You know, that's your time to get courted.

That's your time to put yourself out there, so to speak. But this is a different deal. Max Crosby reportedly, as we've heard here and there, has he played his last down for the Raiders? They're amidst a coaching change with Clint Kubiak. Usually that means that somebody who might be a big name, if you're rebuilding, you know, can that guy bring value to your team? team if you trade him away. The bears have done business with the Raiders when they've

been in that position before, see Kaleel Mac. So it's not far-fetched to say it could happen again. Max Crosby is that dude. He's the top name that gets the people going when it comes to our show and our audience.

And it's safe to say that that could happen anywhere else in the league. People want to dream. They want to dream about having Max Crosby on their team. And there's nothing really stopping anybody from doing that right now. So when Max Crosby and Caleb Williams decided to get together for our podcast that went over an hour, it was not filler, it was real discussion. Of course we were all listening. Not just listening, but also reveling in the fact that, hold up, Max Crosby and Caleb Williams

got together for a podcast in the throes of teams who are cutting players, restructuring contracts, getting ready to make trades. And we remember last year how big the trade they made on offense was with the Kansas City Chiefs to get Joe Tuny. It feels like they can make the same type of trade for Max Crosby and revitalize the defense. And a defense that showed some improvement, frankly, at the end of the season. Well, that's it. It's when we talk about this, what's the price going to be?

And not the price necessarily to have him on your team, but just to, to acquire him to your team. You know, those are two different things. Can you carry the freight of the salary? Can you also do enough restructuring to make that happen? And then before that, there's what do you want to give up? And I said this yesterday. There's been a lot of discussion about the concept of,

there's been a lot of discussion of what the package would be to get him. And we talked about it a little bit on Chicago Sports Tonight. Cassie Carlson was just here. That show was with Tina Winn and Chris Black on Sunday. And I've said this before. I don't necessarily think it means three first round picks. It probably means more than the package that the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons because the Cowboys were the ones who did business to trade away Micah Parsons.

So that usually means there's a lack of adequate value in return coming back. I think there might be a player. There might be another draft pick outside of two firsts. Something along those lines, given the tizzy that the league is in over Max Cross being available, putting himself out there, and also just simply talking ball. Yeah, I think there was a lot of clarification he had to do, Marshall, when it came to just whether or not his injury and his season-ending surgery, as I say that in quotes, was enough to make anybody really concerned about his availability moving forward. I think if we operate in a world where the best ability is

availability, and that's how I operate, because that's what you have to do in sports in general, but especially with a violent sport like football, the availability of him from a health standpoint isn't really the issue. It's the plus he gives you because of his availability as a guy who stays on the field, which is what makes him such an intriguing person to add to your team, right?

And I love that. Max Crosby, in talking to Caleb Williams, is kind of letting you know, I like what's going on in Chicago. He didn't have to come and say, I want to join the Chicago Bears. It's everything he said over the course of an hour that let you know he's on board with what the Chicago Bears are doing.

Well, that's it. And that's putting yourself out there. The proximity will tell a tale in it of itself. So in the same vein of me asking years ago, was Bryce Harper flirting with Chicago? What are you doing over here, Max Crosby? Are you trolling us all? Or is this legitimately putting yourself out there to get to know, another team's quarterback with a fan base who wants you on that team.

I mean, did you hear yourself just now? Like that last sentence, it sums it up perfectly. Getting to know a quarterback when you know the fan base is rabid about the possibility of adding you. I think this was very strategic, both on the part of Max Crosby and Caleb Williams. They could do this podcast anytime. Why now? Why is now the time they decide to put this podcast and give you over 60 minutes of goodness?

Well, and not only that, but it is two ballers talking ball. So let's start with the, I think let's start with the really good stuff first. Let's start with the football geek, seamhead, respectively, type of stuff where Max Crosby and Caleb Williams are talking about each other's game and how they study each other. Josh McDaniel's last game is our head coach when we went to Detroit and played Ben Johnson the Lions. And I watched that game a hundred times out. And I'm like, okay. And it was one of my better games in my career. Yeah.

And it was similar to y'all's game. I didn't have a sack. It's still one of my better games, just as overall disruption. Yeah. And Ben, like, you get respect for coaches at a different level when you know, like, damn, this motherfucker. Yeah. He's making this difficult. Yeah.

Everything he's doing is for a reason. It's very calculated. We got to stick to it. We got motions that are going to, you know, and then later we'll hit you with the same motion. We'll run at you. We'll run the same thing. It's going to be, you know, we're going to wind back and, you know, think it's this. And he's, you know, he's going to send a jet motion one time, not going to hand it off.

The next time tackle is going to sprint down. He's low-key going to just drop it off. Like, it's little things like that. So, like, watching that game, I'm like, okay, he might do this. But I know this is the only difference. Caleb can run. Yeah. Jerogh ain't running nowhere.

Yeah. So that's the difference, which makes y'all's offense go and make it so dangerous because you have the ability to get on the run. Yeah. Improvise. And you can improvise and reprove it and make it happen. So all week I'm like, all right, how am I going to fuck this game? Yeah. I need to find a way.

It was crazy. And I've never seen, I mean, other than offensive linemen and myself, everybody else comes out the game. Yeah. Yeah. He took, and we went back and he took two plays off. Yeah. And it was two positive plays for us.

But he took two plays off. It's like taking LeBron out of the game. I mean, I swear he took two plays off and it was like it was insane. I mean, you don't, you don't see that in, in this sense of the game where D-Ns especially, you know, guys, I mean, they get out the game often. It's all the time, yeah. Often. Like, dude, you're a freak. Why you're the, you're the.

Go chill. Take your, they, take your break. You're like, no. You should be, you should be wrecking the game. Like, you're six foot six and 280 and, you know, I see the ends throughout the, throughout the league and watching games and they're subming out like. Yeah. Like, in my mind, it's like, I bet. Let's go right where he just left.

Right at him. Right at him. Right where he just. Yeah. Let's finally run the ball right. Yeah. Yeah. So it's, it's, it's a, that's, that's a special also.

Yeah. The stamina part of it, which I take great pride in myself. Like, hell yeah. I'll run and I'll scramble 50 yards. Come back the next, but I'd do it again. Yeah. Yeah, whatever, kind of whatever it takes kind of kind of mindset. This is Rahimi Harris and Grotty.

on 104-3 the score. That was courtesy of the Max Crosby podcast. He and Kayla Williams on the Rush podcast talking about each other and then also the effects that they have on the game. That was as good of a scouting report on the Bears' offense as I've heard. And there's something in there about Max Crosby that I think a lot of people should know. It's his snaps per game and how many plays he does not take off. That is not as typical of other pass rushers that we know. I love how you say it, and I'm reading your mind right now, and why are you talking about Montess Wet in that manner? But there's a flip side to that.

A lot of people think that because of Max Crosby playing all those snaps, and he's going to have to curtail that a bit and limit it a little bit more in order to extend his career to the years that he may want to. I think eventually he will, but what was funny about that comment and what you just said is that Caleb says, it's like taking LeBron James out of the game. and that tells you what kind of impact Caleb Williams believes Max Crosby has on the game, but also, hey, it's 2026.

We got all kinds of new revelatory practices and procedures and the way we can keep people, not in ice, not literally on cryo, but not in a bubble. Not in a bubble. This isn't Hans Solo and freaking the Empire Strikes Back. How dare you ruin it for people? Spoiler alert. What I will tell you is, If Max Crosby is intent on keeping his style and his intensity the same and being on the field as much as possible and only taking off less than a handful of plays every game.

Yeah, he's up in the upper 90s when it comes to a percentage of snaps per game. What's great about that is if he plays for your team, you don't have to worry about what you're getting from him. You're getting max effort. And I'm not saying that to be puny. I'm just, that's what you're getting. When the pun fits, you got to do. it and that's that's what he is he told you why it was hard for opposing teams to defend the bears we saw that you know there are a lot of times where teams would put a spy on Caleb williams we saw

him take advantage of those situations and then you also hear how max crosbie will view a game and i think the way he watches a game while he's playing in it a lot of that is because of the high amount of snaps he plays but the bottom line is these two talking this is game recognized game and we are lucky to have this conversation. I love it when two ballplayers get to talk like this, and we get to further examine it, not just the fact that they're talking, what it means.

And then also just, did you need other reasons to like this guy? Did Bears fans need another reason to want him on your team? No, I don't know if we're going to get to it today, but Caleb talking about the interception. I think every Bears fan fills the way that Caleb Williams, felt when that interception happened. Well, and that's it. You know, there are times where you recognize somebody and you give him

his respect because of the career he's had, the resume, knowing that that could still occur. And then there are guys where you know that that can happen at any time. And that was Max Crosby's effect on the game for the Bears when they face the Raiders. There are a couple of breaking news pieces that we want to tell you about. You know how we feel about breaking news on Rahimi Harrison Grotie. I just know it's sponsored by the Take the North podcast. That's it because we say so. You should listen to the Take the North podcast.

They're taking your questions right now if you have any for them. This is per Kevin Fishbane. The Bears announced press Taylor's promotion to offensive coordinator, the hiring of Eric Studsville, the running backs coach. Please bear with us if we say Studsville. We've worked with Adam Studsinski for years, okay? Years. Bear with us.

Yes. Will Lawing, the offensive analyst, and Isaiah Ford, Offensive Quality Control. Ford was a Dolphins receiver in 2017 and 18 when Ben Johnson was their receiver coach. So all of that is official. That's not the only coaching move we have to discuss, by the way, the NFL. We'll get to that a little bit later in five on it. The Bears also released a graphic with their headshots. And they wished everybody a happy Ramadan and a happy Lunar New Year. I thought that was pretty cool too. Nicely done, bears. Way to spread all fields here on this and now Ash Wednesday. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 143 The Score, Marshall Harris, and Laylorah Rheemey, are with you as we broadcast live from the Scores Hyundai Studios, brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers. Our producers are Ray Diaz and Tyler Beater, Rob, Braden Friar helps us out as well.

And you can catch us on Twitch. Twitch.tv.tv slash The Score Chicago. We are also The Score Chicago on YouTube. Our video crew is Connor O'Donnell, Jacob Stutz, and Max Curtis. You can text and call us at 312-644-67. coming up next more on that Caleb Williams and Max Crosby discussion and really a follow-up to what was discussed in the Seth Wickersham book about watching film and the adjustments that a college quarterback has to make to the pros so we'll do that next.