The Las Vegas Raiders haven't been shy about shutting key players down at the end of the 2025 NFL season. After all, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is on the line, and the Raiders seem keen on picking as high as they possibly can come April.
Even though it upset Maxx Crosby to be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign, it wasn't just him. Las Vegas also placed Brock Bowers, Jeremy Chinn and Jordan Meredith on IR, and they aren't seemingly rushing Kolton Miller back, either. Some call this tanking. We call it protecting investments.