Maxx Crosby.
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The Maxx Crosby trade deal finally happened, but the Detroit Lions have a reason to be happy about the result. Here's why.
The Las Vegas Raiders are left to pick up the pieces after the Ravens back out of their trade. After the two sides agreed to a trade last week that would have sent Raiders All-Pro ED Maxx Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for two first-round picks, including the No. 14 pick in this draft, the Ravens backed out of the deal late on Tuesday night, before it became official on Wednesday afternoon.
With the news breaking on Wednesday morning that the Ravens are instead signing former Bengals ED Trey Hendrickson to a big four-year contract, everyone knows what happened. The Ravens are officially citing a failed physical for Crosby as to why they’re backing out of the deal, but no one really believes them. The Raiders posted an incredibly icy announcement of their trade being voided and multiple GMs around the league have expressed their disdain and displeasure — all anonymously, of course.
Unfortunately, the Raiders don’t have many options left to them.
Insider Says the Las Vegas Raiders Have ‘No Recourse’ on Failed Maxx Crosby Trade
Maxx Crosby and Lamar Jackson
GettyA “very interesting” Maxx Crosby statistic justifies the Baltimore Ravens trading two first-round draft picks for the All-Pro pass-rusher.
Everyone may know the Ravens just got cold feet with this trade and wanted their picks back, a decision likely prompted by realizing they could just pay Hendrickson instead. Knowing that and being able to do something about it are two different things, however. The Raiders are understandably upset by this turn of events, but their options are limited.
On Wednesday morning, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero laid out the Raiders’ choices in light of this information.
“While there has been intense backlash at the Ravens for backing out of the Maxx Crosby trade, there’s really no recourse to the Raiders or the NFL,” Pelissero wrote on X/Twitter. “Even when trades are official, they often have conditions that are negotiated, including a player reporting to a new club and passing a physical by a certain date. The result of a physical is at the discretion of the new club’s doctor.”
Essentially, it doesn’t matter if the Raiders and the rest of the league smell something fishy with how the Ravens handled it. Because the trade wasn’t yet official, Baltimore could cancel it for any reason. Calling it a failed physical just gives them some plausible deniability that they didn’t just get cold feet, in an attempt to save face in the league’s eyes. Las Vegas isn’t buying it, though.
What Else Can the Las Vegas Raiders Do?
In short: not much. As Pelissero noted, the Raiders have “no recourse” on this trade. It’s over, it’s dead. Las Vegas has to move forward.
The good news for the Raiders is that they have enough cap space to keep all their free agent signings even with Crosby on the books again. They won’t have to back out of any deals or renegotiate any contracts.
The big loss for the Raiders are those two first-round picks. Those were supposed to supercharge Las Vegas’ rebuild. Without them, acquiring young, top-level talent will be harder.
But at this point, the Raiders are stuck. There’s nothing they can do.