San Francisco 49ers Swap Quarterback For Maxx Crosby In Blockbuster Trade Proposal That Could Go Down This Offseason

Maxx Crosby could make the 49ers defense a scary one.

The San Francisco 49ers had a solid 2025 NFL season. Although it didn’t end as they wanted (eliminated by the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round), the 49ers left a good impression ahead of the 2026 season.

Tyler Nickel puts it on the floor and scores

The little drama at the start of the season between Mac Jones and Brock Purdy ended in Week 10, when the Los Angeles Rams beat Jones and Co., 42-26. The Niners lost just one game after that week, entering the playoffs with high expectations.

While the offense looked strong most of the time, the defense was a disaster for San Francisco. They had a glaring issue in their front, recording just 20 sacks in 2025. They were worse than the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, two of the worst defenses in the NFL.

Maxx Crosby has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate for multiple teams, including the Seahawks and the Chicago Bears. The 49ers joined that list recently.

49ers Could Trade Mac Jones To Open The Door For Maxx Crosby

Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones (10) reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
After losing the QB battle to Brock Purdy, Mac Jones remains a valued player within the 49ers organization. However, Vic Tafur of The Athletic sees a way for San Francisco to trade Jones away, get draft capital in return and use it to land Maxx Crosby.

“Lynch and Shanahan didn’t seem flexible when the topic of trading quarterback Mac Jones came up on Wednesday,” Tafur wrote on January 26. “But that may have just been posturing, or a sense that it was too soon to hint at goodbye for the popular, self-admittedly goofy backup who won five games last season. Surely, an offer of a third-round pick would be too rich to pass up for more years of Jones, especially given Shanahan’s success in developing quarterbacks.”

“An extra pick would help the 49ers address a need — or even stockpile picks for someone such as Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who should be available and who the team really liked when the 49ers went against him in a joint practice last summer. There are a lot of cool things in view when you have a nice window.”

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Teams like the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets or Indianapolis Colts could try to make a move for Jones. He went 5-3 in 2025, recording 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. After a rocky tenure with the New England Patriots, Jones thrived under Kyle Shanahan. He could be the next Daniel Jones in 2026.