The Las Vegas Raiders shocked the NFL community Tuesday when they revealed the Baltimore Ravens backed out of their blockbuster trade centered around Maxx Crosby.
Four days ago, the Ravens agreed to send their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to the Raiders in exchange for Crosby. They abandoned this deal after conducting a physical on the Pro Bowl defensive end. While it's been reported that Crosby failed his physical, his agent claims he's on track to make a full recovery from his knee surgery this offseason.
"Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr Neal El Attrache," CJ LaBoy wrote. "Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program & will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past 7 seasons."
So what really happened? NFL fans are convinced the Ravens backed out of the deal once they saw Trey Hendrickson was still on the open market.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates as time winds down in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns. © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
"My conspiracy is that the Ravens back-channeled a deal with Trey Hendrickson and used the physical as an excuse to back out of the Maxx Crosby trade," an NFL content creator wrote on social media. "We'll know tomorrow."
"The Ravens used that failed physical as an excuse to keep their first-round picks and pivot to Trey Hendrickson," a fan declared.
"Crazy they backed out once Hendrickson was available.. if the Ravens try to sign him, the league needs to investigate. Raiders will probably file a grievance based on their wording that the Ravens 'backed out' of their agreement," another fan wrote.
"If the Ravens go sign Trey Hendrickson tomorrow, is there any room for the NFL to investigate collusion on the part of Baltimore to back out of a deal," a social media user asked.
What's going on with Trey Hendrickson?
Hendrickson has racked up 171 total tackles, 120 QB hits, 61 sacks and 12 forced over the past five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was expected to receive a massive payday this offseason.
CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones reported that Hendrickson's asking price is way off from his actual value on the open market.
"Teams that weren't in on Trey Hendrickson may get in on him as time goes on and his price aligns more with where the market views him," Jones said. "As of this morning there were teams I spoke with who said the gap between what he wanted and what they were willing to pay was close to $10M per year."
If the Ravens end up signing Hendrickson, there'll be plenty of fans calling for the league to investigate their front office.
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