Maxx Crosby is leaving the AFC West, and you won’t fault the Denver Broncos if they raise a celebratory toast as the Las Vegas Raiders’ edge-rusher extraordinaire struts out the door to the Baltimore Ravens.
That’s because no pass rusher has caused more damage and shredded more Broncos pockets in recent years than the Eastern Michigan product, who has averaged more than a sack per game at Denver’s expense during his career.
Crosby has 16.5 sacks and 25 quarterback hits over 14 games against the Broncos, including 3 sacks of Bo Nix over the four games he’s played in the last two years since Denver added Nix in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting him one spot before the Raiders nabbed tight end Brock Bowers.
The domination of Crosby over the Broncos is so thorough that he has more sacks against them than the other two teams in the AFC West combined; he has 14.5 sacks over 26 career contests against the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs.
In Broncos history, only the late Derrick Thomas recorded more sacks at their expense, getting to Denver quarterbacks 18 times over 11 seasons (1989-99) before his untimely death in February 2000, just weeks after being injured in a car crash that resulted in paralysis.
CROSBY WILL BE DEALT FOR TWO FIRST-ROUND PICKS
Las Vegas will pick up first-round choices in the next two drafts from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for Crosby, giving them two of the first 14 selections in this year’s draft — picks 1 and 14.
It’s another sign that new Raiders coach Klint Kubiak is working toward a full reset for the Silver and Black, which hasn’t won a playoff game since January 2003. The 2002 season also represents the last time the Raiders won the AFC West and hosted a playoff game.
Despite those struggles, the Raiders owned the Broncos earlier this decade, ripping off eight-consecutive wins in the series from 2020 through the final game of the 2023 campaign. The Broncos stopped that streak five games into the 2024 season, a game in which Crosby had 2 sacks.
Crosby could still cause problems for the Broncos in the 2026 season, but if that happens, it won’t be until the postseason. For the first time since 2018, they won’t have to worry about game-planning for him in the regular season.