Ravens back out of trade for Maxx Crosby, according to Raiders

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The day after Maxx Crosby posted his view from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the Ravens backed out of the trade that sent two first-round picks to Las Vegas for the Pro Bowl pass rusher, according to the Raiders.

Four days after the trade went down, the Raiders posted a statement to their X account: “The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time.”

The Ravens nixed the deal because Crosby did not pass his physical, according to The Athletic. Crosby had knee surgery to repair his meniscus in January, and the Ravens did not want to assume the risk based on the status of his recovery, NFL Network reported.

The Raiders decided to sit Crosby for their Week 17 game against the New York Giants due to concerns over his knee, which he initially injured in Week 7 against Kansas City, and his anger over the decision became a national story.

Ravens officials have not responded to a request for comment, nor has Crosby’s agency, The Team.

CJ LaBoy, senior vice president of The Team’s NFL division, wrote on social media that Crosby was ahead of schedule in his recovery and “will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been.”

The trade would have been the biggest in Ravens history. It sent two first-round picks (2026 and 2027) to the Raiders in exchange for Crosby, a five-time Pro Bowl defensive end. The Ravens had never traded a first-round pick for a veteran player prior to the deal. They now get both picks back and are again slated to take a player at No. 14 overall in April.

Baltimore needs help with its pass rush. The Ravens had just 22 sacks when sending four or fewer pass rushers last year, according to Sports Info Solutions; only six teams had fewer. Their pressure rate on non-blitzes was 29.2%, according to SIS, fourth-lowest in the NFL.

Crosby would have been a major addition to that unit. He had 10 sacks, 20 quarterback hits, 73 tackles and an interception in 15 games last season and has been dominant for years.

Since he entered the league in 2019, Crosby leads all defensive linemen in solo tackles (277) and tackles for loss (133). He ranks second in quarterback pressures (431) and quarterback hits (119). He’s third in total tackles (437), fourth in batted passes (20) and fifth in sacks (69.5).

He’s also known as a fierce competitor and leader: Crosby was so upset when the Raiders told him they would sit him in Week 17, he left the team’s facility. But head coach Pete Carroll said it was the right decision for Crosby’s long-term future.

At the time, the Raiders were also in contention for the league’s worst record and the No. 1 overall draft pick. Crosby said he did not “give a shit about” securing the top pick, adding he simply wanted to play well.

The Raiders lost their Week 17 game, got the first pick and are expected to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. They fired Carroll and hired Klint Kubiak. And they thought they had dealt Crosby for two more picks to aid a rebuild.

Now that part of the plan has fallen through. The Ravens, meanwhile, spent the first two days of free agency thinking they had no money to spend, so they need to regroup.

Crosby’s contract would have put the Ravens more than $10 million over the salary cap ahead of the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Spotrac. Without him, the Ravens should have money to spend; the terms of quarterback Tyler Huntley’s and guard John Simpson’s contracts are not yet known.

The Ravens are still negotiating a contract extension with two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose cap hit is set to jump to $74.5 million this season. Jackson, who could help the team find significant cap relief by lengthening his deal, posted a message, “Boom,” on X a few hours before the Crosby trade.

The legal tampering period started Monday, and the Ravens were quiet through the first two days, only re-signing Huntley and adding Simpson.

Meanwhile, the Ravens said farewell to many of their players who hit free agency, including Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, who reached a record-breaking deal with the Raiders.

After the Ravens reached a tentative agreement on a package to land Crosby, interior offensive line shot to the top of the team’s list of priorities. Now, they will need to address both the line and the pass rush through free agency, another trade or the NFL draft.

The biggest remaining names in the edge rusher market are Trey Hendrickson, K’Lavon Chaisson, Arnold Ebiketie, Bradley Chubb and A.J. Epenesa.