Ravens instant analysis: Breaking down the Maxx Crosby fallout, Lamar Jackson restructure

Join the huddle. Sign up here for Ravens updates in your inbox.

The Ravens were one of the early winners of the NFL offseason after they worked out a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for star edge rusher Maxx Crosby on Friday.

Then a group of the team’s free agents, headlined by Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, found new homes once the legal tampering period opened Monday.

Then, on Tuesday night, the trade for Crosby fell apart.

And now, hours before the free-agency period officially opens at 4 p.m., the Ravens have reportedly signed former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a four-year deal.

In an effort to free up salary cap space, the Ravens reportedly restructured star quarterback Lamar Jackson’s deal. Owner Steve Bisciotti had previously stated his goal was to work out a new deal.

Ahead, The Banner’s sports staff attempts to make sense of it all.

Ravens get the help they needed — but not the way they wanted

It was all good just five days ago. On Friday, the Ravens had a best-case scenario brewing: a surprise deal for run-stopping and pass-rushing extraordinaire Maxx Crosby — arriving in Baltimore on a flexible, below-market-rate contract — and hope for an extension with quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose lowered salary cap hit would help spur a transformative offseason in Baltimore.

Now the Ravens have an agreement with a star pass rusher and a lower cap hit on the books for Jackson. But neither result should feel like a win for general manager Eric DeCosta.

Yes, the Ravens’ pass rush greatly improves with Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who had more sacks in 2024 (17.5) than all Ravens edge rushers had last season (13). But they reportedly had to fork over $60 million in fully guaranteed money for a 32-year-old who’s coming off an injury-marred 2025 season. Hendrickson’s four-year, $112 million deal is far less of an asset than Crosby’s carried-over three-year, $106.5 million deal would’ve been.

And yes, Jackson’s restructure means the Ravens are now cap-compliant. But every week that passes without an extension will deepen the anxiety in the Ravens’ fan base, misguided or not, that Jackson is not fully committed to Baltimore. He has even more leverage now in negotiations, too, with his cap hit in 2027 skyrocketing beyond $74.5 million. Will Jackson wait to see what Drake Maye, Caleb Williams and other quarterbacks due for a deal next offseason will sign for? Or will he take care of business this offseason?

— Jonas Shaffer, reporter

The best-case, worst-case scenario

By the books, the Hendrickson signing is a great move. Way better than Crosby, in fact. The Ravens get a star pass rusher for less money per year than Crosby would have cost. Sure, Hendrickson’s only a four-time Pro Bowler instead of a five-time Pro Bowler, but he also didn’t cost two first-round picks. It’s a great addition to a roster that sorely needs a pass rusher.

That’s through the Ravens’ lens. Through the league-wide lens? This might have been the worst possible thing the Ravens could have done. People around the league were already accusing the Ravens of backing out of the deal for nefarious reasons. They doubted Crosby’s physical could have been that much worse when his recovery from knee surgery was widely known. Many instant reactions were “Watch them sign Hendrickson.” And guess what? The Ravens did. In the eyes of many, that’s confirmation that everything with the Crosby situation is not on the up and up, though few can say for sure.

The Jackson restructure just makes an already difficult situation worse. The additions of Hendrickson, guard John Simpson and quarterback Tyler Huntley sent the salary cap into the red. The Ravens not only had to be compliant by 4 p.m. today, but they also need to clear space for more free agents and draft prospects. A restructure gives a little bit of space for a little bit of time, but it makes it harder in the long run. The Ravens will have to continue searching for more money with only $40 million cleared if they want to keep adding impactful players. This doesn’t mean an extension is out of the question, but it’s not a good look after Bisciotti said he wanted an extension done by this deadline.

— Giana Han, reporter

Solid result, bad process

If you had looked into a crystal ball and said the Ravens would come out of free agency with Trey Hendrickson and all of their first-round picks, that’s a compelling vision. Baltimore does more with first-rounders than most teams in the NFL, and Hendrickson, while not a complete player due to struggles against the run, fills a pass-rushing void that the team has needed for a while.

But it bears repeating until the end of time: No one forced the Ravens to agree to a trade for Maxx Crosby. They knew going into it that Crosby had a surgically repaired knee, and that they would have to give up their picks. They should have certainly considered the risk before agreeing to the deal. The fact that they rebounded so quickly with Hendrickson is more suggestive of buyer’s remorse than a disqualifying medical evaluation — but they’ve managed to sully Crosby’s name in the process anyway.

Now the answer to why the deal went bad seems more apparent: The Ravens aren’t incompetent — they’re just welchers. It’s not a great reputation to have the next time they’re talking to a high-level free agent or trying to seal a trade, and it will likely stick to them like an unflattering odor.

That might hit closer to home than it might appear. Restructuring Jackson’s deal creates immediate cap space, but it also means the franchise quarterback has tremendous leverage over the Ravens as the sides negotiate an extension. You’d have to think Jackson is keeping a close eye on this front office, and weighing his future with the team’s ability to keep fielding a competitive roster around him. We’ll have to see how he responds to the whiplash of a Crosby deal that went up in smoke.

— Kyle Goon, columnist

I want off this ride

What a week, huh? Ravens fans, it’s Wednesday.

At a minimum, the Maxx Crosby trade kerfuffle has been a bit of a black eye for the Ravens and made them the subject of conspiracy theories and online gossip. I, for one, believe they made the deal in good faith. Do you think Eric DeCosta would choose to sit on his hands and watch Tyler Linderbaum and a small army of the team’s other free agents walk out the door? No, he was operating under the belief Crosby and his big cap hit were coming to town to reinvigorate the pass rush.

Landing Trey Hendrickson, the top free-agent edge rusher, is a nice consolation prize, and the Ravens get their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks back. But Hendrickson is not as transcendent as Crosby in the run game and has his own injury concerns.

Then there’s the Lamar of it all, with the Ravens reportedly restructuring Jackson’s contract rather than reaching a new deal. That should free up some space to replenish other parts of the depth chart, but it’s not the outcome anyone in the team’s brain trust said they wanted.

Are the Ravens a better team than they were at the start of the legal tampering period? Maybe. Does the turbulence of the last few days make it feel like the franchise is standing on quicksand? Absolutely.

— Brandon Weigel, editor