While the NFL world reacts to the Raiders getting left at the altar, I’m going to take a different angle: the Raiders just got handed huge leverage. Baltimore was ready to ship two first-round picks to Las Vegas for Maxx Crosby, then backed out after medical concerns on Crosby’s knee popped up during the physical process, per multiple reports. Within hours, the Ravens pivoted and agreed to sign Trey Hendrickson on a four-year, $112 million deal, with reports that the guarantees and signing bonus are hefty. And that pivot is exactly why the Raiders might (should) keep Crosby now.
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Why Keep Crosby:
Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) leaves the field following a game against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
First, the price ceiling is set, and it’s ugly. Baltimore was willing to pay the premium – two firsts – and still flinched. That tells every other GM what the Raiders were already going to learn the hard way – teams love Crosby’s tape, but they’re going to use medical uncertainty to drag the offer down. If the best offer you can get is a late first and a pile of maybe, you don’t trade a franchise edge rusher. You just don’t.
Second – Hendrickson’s contract just nuked the edge market. Four years, $112M for a 31-year-old pass rusher basically shows proven pressure is now paid at a premium. That matters for Crosby because it changes the conversation from trade value to roster value. If Vegas can’t get true elite compensation, keeping Crosby is suddenly the smarter financial play. Because replacing him on the open market is going to cost the same kind of money anyway, and you still won’t get a Crosby.
Third – the Raiders have the No. 1 pick and a rebuild that needs a defensive identity, not a fire sale. Crosby is the culture guy, a fearsome defender. If you’re trying to reset the roster and the standard, he’s a lockeroom GOD. Even after being traded, he said he wanted to die (retire) a Raider. That’s something. And that’s something hard to find in a replacement during a rebuild.
Conclusion:
So yeah – the Raiders might (should) keep Maxx Crosby now. Not because they forgot the plan. Not because Richard Gere got Julia Roberts’d (and no, not in the Pretty Woman way). But because Baltimore just detonated the trade, reset the edge market, and made the Raiders’ choice quite simple in my eyes. If nobody’s paying like he’s healthy, then you keep him and let him remind the league why they should have.
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