Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Would acquiring Maxx Crosby make the Bears a Super Bowl contender?

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris debated whether acquiring Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby in a trade would make the Bears a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

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Available now at five-hour energy.com or on Amazon. Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer that can be removed by surgery? Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options. Why? Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help your care team develop a treatment plan that's right for you. Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at ask before surgery.com. That's ask before surgery.com and talk to an oncologist before your surgery. Spring is here and the shopping list is long.

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Loyal program subject to terms and conditions. See Lowe's.com slash terms for details. Subject to change. Point boosters subject to exclusions and more terms apply. One time only offer. Lela Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043, the score. I've been playing tackle football since I could fucking walk.

Yeah, Max Crosby's all going to let you know. And yesterday, just yesterday, the Bears were at plus 650 odds per draft kings to land Max Crosby. They have now moved to the favorites at plus 200. The Raiders, his actual team, are second to the Bears at plus 350. When Chicago gets organized,

you guys can really move a market or two. Yeah. This is a nice work. Go team. I don't like the plus 200 there. That's not a smart bet, is what I would tell you on that. I want to read you this comment, though, Leila, from 9-20. Trading for Cosby would be a panic move by the Bears

acting as if they're not used to being a winning team. It would jeopardize the future and in the best, Oh, now I've lost the, I've lost the plot. Oh, Best Future put them back to where they were a couple of years back. More than Crosby is needed on defense, teams will be able to focus on him and reduce his impact because there's no one else to worry about. It happened in Dallas during the playoffs with Parsons. Stay calm, trust the process, including drafting players for future success.

Don't panic because we were finally a quote unquote good team last year. Yeah, okay. except the process has netted you a pass rush that we just talked about, which is very expensive, injured, and not effective. And yet, one of the highest paid in the league. So that's what makes this so tricky. And the drama is really part of this. Like you mentioned the plot, and you can join our conversation.

312, 64, 64, 67, you can call in text. But the question is really at the center of this. Does he make you a Super Bowl? contender. Does he do what Micah Parsons did for the Packers? Where, we know what the reality was when he got injured and how the Bears ended that saga last season. But we know that once he was traded to the Packers, once the Cowboys made the stupid decision of trading him inside the conference, thereby also lowering their playoff chances, then the Packers became a discussion for possible NFC representative to the Super Bowl.

We know that that was a game changer as far as what we thought their division win total was going to be. Had he been healthy, how would that have looked? Miles Garrett is here to tell you that the Browns beat the Packers with Micah Parsons. But

given that the Bears have I think more weapons, they had more, they won the season series. They beat him in the playoffs. I know it took everything they had, but so to most NFL games. when you consider how the bears are on the upswing and you consider that we haven't seen the realized Caleb Williams yet,

we saw Colson level it in his rookie year, Luther Burton in his rookie year, all the tools and the weapons the bears have, how much of a difference would Max Crosby make? I think it would be the same type of conversation if he were on this team. Now, they've got four safeties that are all out of contract now. They are likely getting Tremaine Edmonds out of the,

building and releasing him for a cap casualty. T.J. Edwards isn't healthy. There's a lot of issues with the defense right now, but does that change how you feel about him on this team? Doesn't change how I feel about it. Look, I'm being very blunt. If you have a chance to get a game wrecker to pair with a quarterback who's not getting paid as much, you do it. And by the time the quarterback is getting paid, some of this other, I won't call it dead weight, some of this other weight that's heavier and more dense than it should be at some these other defensive line positions can be gone from your team. How about that? Is that a better way of putting it? Well, and people are talking about the 2027 cap hits. That doesn't apply.

Crosby's available now. Yes. If he's still available in 2027, then it's a different discussion. But this is what the scenario is in front of you right now. And the reality is, if you don't go get him and someone else goes and gets him, guess what? He's no longer available to you. You better pray it's not in the division and you better pray it's not in the conference. Brian Bouldinger added to the drama yesterday when he was on our afternoon show with Spiegel and Holmes. Listen to this comp. I feel like Max is worth anything, like everything. Like that guy is just a difference maker. It's just a culture builder. Like he sets the tone every day in practice from the day, you know, from the moment he walks into the building. I do the Sacks Summit every year in Las Vegas.

I'm around him a lot. Like it's just you know, I mean, he watched, you know, Jordan's show during the pandemic, and he changed his entire life. He wants to be Michael Jordan. He wants to be the best that's ever done it. And he just has that level of commitment, I guess the last dance is what it was, right? Yes. Like, he watched that thing. His life changed in those 10 episodes.

And he wants to be Michael Jordan. And to do it in Chicago, I mean, you know, I went to school in Michigan. You know, that would be, I think. think that would be a great fit. If you could make something like that happen, I see the general matter of John Spitech is shooting all these rumors down, but the rumors are out there. Like, you have to make the phone call to John SpyTech and just find out just what it takes. He's got a rich contract, but he's worth every penny of it. Nobody will play harder. Nobody will make your defense better. He's just a difference maker. And those are the guys that basically set the tone every day when

walk into Hallis Hall. Man, listen. I heard this live when he was having this discussion with Matt Spiegel and Lawrence Holmes. And my first thought was, even as he got into the story about wanting to be Michael Jordan, how the last dance changed his perspective about sports and playing football. And we already heard what he said on his podcast with Caleb Williams. How can you not want this guy to be? be on your team in Chicago.

He's flirting. There's no doubt about that. You bring up Jordan, you bring up the last dance. But he's flirting. Talk to Caleb Williams. But that's not a conversation that he had just had with him. That's him going back off recollections of years of those two guys knowing each other.

And he's going back basically to the pandemic and talking about the production that you've seen since then how it was influenced by the story of Michael Jordan and his documentary The Last Dance. It is. And you know what? That does, when you hear Max Crosby talk and the cup that Tyler Bueberbaugh played coming into our segment is a good indication of it. That seemed like the right motivation for the right personality, married with the physical gifts that Max Crosby has.

And you always wonder, well, why do some guys, why do they only get to play 50, 55% of the snaps and other guys are like, you can't get me off the field? I think we've gotten since the end of this season through the word. of Max Crosby and others describing Max Crosby, an understanding of why he is the latter guy, not the former. Well, this is what this season is about. You know, Lawrence Holmes called it lying season where the GMs all lie.

Then you're just trying to figure out which one is lying the least or which one you can just predict the best, not even lying the least. Like, do they have a tell? Do they have a bluff? And he's creating a market for himself. He shouldn't have to, but he is. But I don't think Max Crosby's lying in anything.

No, I'm not, Max isn't a GM. Yeah, I'm just making sure we mark the delineation because I think, yes, GMs do lie. And you know what, players, Miles Garrett told me last year he wanted a trade. What happened after he said he wanted to trade? Miles Garrett got a significant ton of money. He got like the Scrooge McDuck's swim in the coin vault money. Hey, life is like a hurricane. I mean, sometimes it bees like that.

And then he got the single season sack record. I'm done carrying around bulky drinks And I'm definitely done cleaning melted candy out of my pockets So yeah I traded them both in for fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots These little guys are as pocket-sized as any candy But instead of a sugar crash, you get a zero-sugar caffeine boost Candy can't even compare at this point

Fruity Rainbow five-hour energy shots Treat your taste buds to an explosion of fruity flavor with a tasty caffeine kick. That's right, caffeine just got a flavor upgrade. And it's not just one flavor. Five-hour energy shots bring you tasty caffeine in 17 flavors. 17. So if you're craving that candy-flavored chaos,

but actually want energy that works? Grab fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots. Pocket-sized, zero-sugar, big flavor. Available now at five-hourenergy.com or on Amazon. Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early stage non-small cell lung cancer that can be removed by surgery? Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options. Why? Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help your care team develop a treatment plan that's right for you.

Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at ask before surgery.com. That's ask before surgery.com and talk to an oncologist before your surgery. Spring is here and the shopping list is long. Time to make a Lowe's run. Buy three bags get three free of stay green one cubic foot garden soil. Plus right now members can earn four times the points on an eligible purchase. Start spring off strong with these deals and more. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's.

Valeth of 325. While supplies last. Soil offer excludes Alask in Hawaii. Loyal program subject to terms and conditions. See Lose.com slash terms for details. Subject to change. Point boosters subject to exclusions and more terms apply. One time only offer.

So I'm just saying, sometimes you've got to say what you've got to say to get what you want. They paid him. He was happy. And then they beat the Packers in a mysterious game. And then he reminded Michael Parsons of it. And then he got the single season sack record. Yeah, he's signed Michael Parsons. He's just on his own podcast.

And his girlfriend did very well at the Olympics. Chloe Kim. Yeah. Congratulations. Really good year for Team Miles Garrett outside of the record. Yeah, the record. But they still beat the Packers. They did to be the Packers.

Thanks, Browns. I like Miles Garrett. I do too. He's a funny guy. I do too. I really like that would be as much as we talk about Max Crosby and I get it. The plan B's and we're going to go over that a little bit. Like for everybody saying Miles Garrett, if we're going to go to this place, if we're going to go to the glamorous dare to dream crazy space,

we're nothing stopping you, then you might as well. 3-1-2-6-4-6-7-7. Share us with us your dream concerning Max Crosby. Do you want him? Are you hesitant to pay all that? Let us know. Well, 773 has a good point here, too. L, I think that's me. And think about seven last minute wins last season. If we can add 10 to 15 sacks helps not being put in those situations. Not a doubt in my mind. And unlike what Ben Johnson has to say, I disagree with him a bit on the, you know, you're really want your pass rush to keep the lead. You see what Seattle did in the Super Bowl? Nah. You want that pass rush to wreck the whole offense's plan.

You want them to think that they got something going and then Seattle's defense is like, never mind! That was one of those games where I think Clay feels the same way, Clay Harbor, where it like broke your brain. Because I'm like, oh, that's how you do it. You know, it's like watching Oklahoma City in the finals and the way they built their team starting at the Paul George

trade. They're in town today. what's up Thunder. But same idea. You know, like once you see how it should be done, then nothing else matters in your head. Yeah, and the Bears have seen, based on who played in the Super Bowl and who won the last two Super Bowls, by the way,

a pretty good model of what you need on defense these days. Yeah, 8-15. Do you know who else beat the Packers twice? The Bears. I think we deserve to be reminded. I think that should be something that we remind ourselves about. It's kind of like the time-honored chant at the University of Texas. What time is it 1037 and OU still sucks?

Oh, wow. Like what time is it, 1037? And the Packers lost to the Bears twice last year. They did. After one guy said at his introductory press conference, he really enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year. He went out and beat Matt LaFleuhrer twice in the season. Top season.

As after Packers always. DJ Moore. And he did his best to make sure that that happened. that's for sure. That was after the first win over the Packers, right? That was a Saturday night game. Ah, we love to see it. Although DJ, the problem is,

DJ probably is the most enticing possibility. It's just whether or not, like, you have no idea if your, if your quarterback is Mendoza and he comes in, you know, is that the partnership you want? You know, that's another question too. I think it's a foregone conclusion. the Raiders get Mendoza. So then it's just a matter of who does he want to work with.

We're taking your calls as well. 312, 644-67 and go to Charlotte. That is where Sean is listening. Hi, Charlotte. Hi, Sean. Hey, hey, Layla and Marshall. What about the show? Look, I would love to have Max Krausey on the show.

Or not on the show. We would love to have him on the show, too. I called you Charlotte earlier. Let's just, we'll start again. Hi, Sean. You're on the score. Yeah. So I would love to have Max Krodsey on the Bears, but when I started looking through Spotrak cap hits per season and how players are ranked of defensive players.

And on the last 15 Super Bowl champions, none of them have had a defensive end in the top 25 of cap hits for that season. If you want to expand it to be edge rusher, DNO off or outside linebacker, only had someone in the top 25. That's 20 to Baltimore Ravens, 2015, Denver Broncos, 2020, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So I guess my kind of concern is the general philosophy of investing in just one pass rusher when really you can spread that cap allocation across the board. Of course, they can get creative with how they actually allocate or structure a deal, so maybe they fall below that top 25.

But I think really that's my main concern because you're so invested in one specific rusher. So I don't know what your thoughts are on that, but I think overall it's just a questionable strategy. Sean, no, I get it. It is a questionable strategy if you don't. pull it off right. If Michael Parsons gets hurt like he did last year, that's a reflective of that strategy backfiring on you. Yeah. But at some point, you got to get somebody to do something. And I got to tell you, what else is a failing strategy is paying guys like Dio Odingbo and drafting guys that don't develop into these big home run hitters that you need at edge rusher?

Well, and I, but he's, he's right. Like the bears, you know, when it comes to how they rank versus what they're paid, that's, that's the whole discussion. You know, and that's, the frustrating part. That's the entirety of the discussion, especially when you consider there are teams out here like Denver, who had far and away the most sacks in the league as a team, and then that practically gets them to the Super Bowl if Bo Knicks hadn't gotten hurt. You know, that's the hard part about a lot of this is defense is also based on, if not, it's based on your offense functioning to a certain degree in everybody being healthy. that's what makes this hard.

Like offensively, you can you can plug and play a little bit more understandably. So, like, you know the drop off with somebody leaving like this. And you understood, like, with Michael Parsons out, that changed exactly what the Packers were doing. And I think the bigger point to be made here is that they weren't one player away. The Packers were not one player away from being a contender. Is he so good that when he's healthy that he's able to change the discussion? Yes. But when he's injured, if the rest of the team can't get it done in a way that is suitable,

then they weren't one player away. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see exactly how many players away the bears feel like they are. And that's what this is going to probably come down to. 312644-67. I want more calls. Sean's call was great. I like a viewpoint that is dissimilar to my own because I like to parse through it. 708 on our text line.

Please tell Sean to stop killing my Max Crosby Buzz with facts and reasoning. That's fair. If you'll remember this time last year, I'm pretty sure we decided the bears were going to have Nick Chubb on their team. So there's that. He had a really impressive day at the gym that one day when we saw the video. This is just that time of year. It's lying season, including to ourselves. 312, 644, 67, is our number.

Let's talk about some of the alternate players that I think also fit into this dare to dream vibe that we have going. So are the numbers true? Are the betting numbers going to follow the. actual process of Max Crosby, possibly going to the Bears. We discuss it next. I'm done carrying around bulky drinks. And I'm definitely done cleaning melted candy out of my pockets. So yeah, I traded them both in for fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots.

These little guys are as pocket-sized as any candy. But instead of a sugar crash, you get a zero-sugar caffeine boost. Candy can't even compare at this point. Fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots treat your taste buds to an explosion of fruity flavor with a tasty caffeine kick. That's right, caffeine just got a flavor upgrade. And it's not just one flavor. Five-hour energy shots bring you tasty caffeine in 17 flavors.

17. So if you're craving that candy-flavored chaos, but actually want energy that works? Grab fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots. pocket-sized zero sugar, big flavor. Available now at 5Hourenergy.com or on Amazon. Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer that can be removed by surgery? Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options.

Why? Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help your care team develop a treatment plan that's right for you. Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at after surgery at after. Ask Before Surgery.com. That's ask before surgery.com. And talk to an oncologist before your surgery. Spring is here, and the shopping list is long. Time to make a Lowe's run. Buy three bags get three free of stay green, one cubic foot garden soil.

Plus, right now, members can earn four times the points on an eligible purchase. Start spring off strong with these deals and more. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valeth, 325, while supplies last. Soil offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. See lows.com slash terms for details. Subject to change.

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