Ravens GM Eric DeCosta ‘gutted’ over nixed trade for Maxx Crosby

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Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday he was “gutted” by the dissolution of a blockbuster trade for Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby, which fell apart over apparent medical concerns.

The Raiders said Tuesday night the Ravens had “backed out” of their deal, which was agreed to Friday and would’ve sent two first-round draft picks to Las Vegas in exchange for the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

DeCosta, speaking publicly for the first time since the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period Monday, did not comment directly on Crosby’s medical situation. But he acknowledged the Ravens were “not able to complete the process of acquiring the player based on our assessment of the situation.”

All trades are contingent on players passing a physical, and Crosby underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee in January. The 28-year-old arrived in Baltimore on Monday before returning home Tuesday night.

“Nobody more disappointed than me,” said DeCosta, who called Crosby, an elite run defender and proven pass rusher, “one of my favorite players in the entire NFL.”

“I know our fans were upset, devastated. I understand that. Tough, tough situation. But I think, for the Ravens, the right situation. My role as GM and Jesse [Minter]’s role as head coach and Sashi [Brown]’s role as president [are to be] stewards of the organization. We have to make tough calls, and this was certainly a tough call to make.”

Members of Crosby’s camp have insisted the player is on track to recover from the surgery.

His agent, CJ LaBoy of The Team, wrote on social media Tuesday night that Crosby was ahead of schedule in his recovery and “will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been.”

The Ravens nearly pulled off a high-profile edge rusher double dip. On Wednesday, they agreed to a four-year deal worth a reported $112 million with former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, but DeCosta said the Ravens had discussed potentially acquiring him in addition to Crosby.

The Ravens pivoted to Hendrickson, DeCosta indicated, after talks broke down with Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum over a potential extension. Linderbaum agreed to a record-breaking deal Monday with Las Vegas.

Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, but injuries limited the 31-year-old to four sacks in seven games last year.

“We’ve played against him [Hendrickson] twice a year for the last four or five years and thought, ‘Hey, maybe this is a way for us to get better as a football team,’” DeCosta said. “So that was definitely a possibility for us. Not to say that [acquiring Crosby and Hendrickson] would have happened, but definitely something that we had contemplated and discussed with Trey.”

Asked about the reported blowback in the NFL’s tight-knit personnel community, DeCosta joked the fallout from Crosby’s nixed trade “hasn’t stopped my phone from ringing, I’ll tell you that.”

The Ravens on Wednesday agreed to a contract extension with cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and to new deals for veteran safety Jaylinn Hawkins and tight end Durham Smythe.

“I think our relationship with agents and with other teams is really, really good,” DeCosta said. “I understand the question. I think that GMs understand the importance of getting as much information as possible before making decisions.”

DeCosta said he didn’t know what the Ravens could’ve done differently in their pursuit or evaluation of Crosby. He said he was “probably speechless” in his office Wednesday as he considered the Ravens’ next step.

“It was tough,” DeCosta said. “It’s a guy that I really admire as a player. I mean, you’ve all watched him play. So you all know what he’s like as a player, right? This is a guy that plays like a Raven, you know? So, yeah, it’s challenging.

“You get emotionally attached — that’s what I would say. I think I’m hard on myself, and you think you question everything you do. In this business, you’re never perfect, right? With the draft and with free agency, I think, in this particular instance, I’m really proud of the team and the doctors and the guys that work with me. And this is a tough thing that we have to deal with in this business.”

DeCosta ‘confident’ after losing Linderbaum

Though he spent most of Wednesday’s session discussing the Ravens’ collapsed effort to trade for Crosby, DeCosta also lamented the loss of Linderbaum, who agreed to a reported three-year, $81 million deal that includes $60 million guaranteed and makes him the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in NFL history.

“I feel equally bad that we lost Tyler,” DeCosta said.

DeCosta compared his effort to re-sign Linderbaum to bidding on a hotly desired house. In other words, he made his best offer but was never going to outbid the Raiders. “I wasn’t ever going to get that house,” he said.

DeCosta expressed optimism the Ravens will nonetheless improve their offensive line under new coach Dwayne Ledford. The Ravens have agreed to sign free agent John Simpson, who could slot in at left guard in his return to Baltimore, and DeCosta noted that they have 11 draft picks and money to spend on other veterans.

Corey Bullock, an exclusive-rights free agent, is the only center on their roster. But DeCosta said the Ravens will evaluate other free-agent linemen over the next few weeks. He backed Ledford, saying he did a “masterful” job upgrading the Falcons’ front in his five years as their offensive line coach.

“I think it’s one of the things that I probably admire most about his coaching style, is his ability to take these younger guys and make them really, really good,” DeCosta said. “So I think we’ve got a good plan. ... I have a lot of confidence in Coach Ledford and our offensive staff to develop guys. I’m confident. We’ve done it before. I think we have a pretty good history of drafting centers. I could go back and probably give you four or five guys that we’ve drafted over the years that have ended up being some of the very best centers in the league. So I’m confident we can do that.”

Childs Walker contributed to this article.

This article has been updated.