The Las Vegas Raiders want two first-round picks and a premium player for Maxx Crosby. Read that again. Let it settle.

Per Adam Schefter, Las Vegas is setting that price for arguably the best pure pass rusher in the NFL — a player who has been a first-team All-Pro, a Pro Bowl fixture, and the one legitimate reason to tune in to Raiders games in recent seasons. Two first-round picks and a premium player. That is not just an asking price. That is a statement of where this franchise is headed.

It is a statement that tells you everything about where the Las Vegas Raiders are right now. When you are willing to make your best player available — when you are telling the league openly that he can be had — you are not competing anymore. You are transitioning. You are rebuilding. The only question is how fast and how smart.

Now, is the price realistic? Let's be honest. Two first-round picks for a non-quarterback is a generational ask. The Khalil Mack trade in 2018 — which set the market for pass rushers — netted the Oakland Raiders two first-rounders and two other picks, and Mack was a Defensive Player of the Year. That is the comparable. So Las Vegas is not asking for the moon without precedent.

But times change. Pass-rush markets shift. The team acquiring Crosby needs to be certain he is the missing piece — the edge rusher who transforms a defense from good to championship-caliber — to justify that expenditure. That is a high bar.

So who reaches that bar? You are looking at teams with the draft capital and the defensive infrastructure to maximize what Crosby brings. The Dallas Cowboys have shown appetite for premium pass rushers historically. The Pittsburgh Steelers could use a game-breaking edge on the outside. Several genuine contenders could make this call work.

If the Raiders get their price, this accelerates their rebuild significantly. Multiple first-round picks plus a quality player is the raw material for a genuine turnaround. If they cannot get it — if nobody blinks at that number — then Maxx Crosby stays in Las Vegas, his value theoretically declining with each season, on a team that has not committed to winning around him.

Either way, the Raiders front office has made a choice. They have decided to see what their best player is worth on the open market. In a league where front office decisions define franchises for a decade, this one deserves very close watching.