The Baltimore Ravens made a huge splash trade at the start of the 2026 NFL offseason. They sent two first-round picks, including No. 14 in the 2026 NFL Draft, to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby.
The defensive end flew to Baltimore to meet with the team, and four days after the trade was agreed upon, news broke that the Ravens were backing out on the deal. The Raiders released a statement putting the blame on Baltimore, and NFL analysts confirmed that the reasoning was that Crosby failed his physical.
He is still recovering from a meniscus surgery he had in January, and he wasn't expected to pass the physical. Las Vegas made its doctors and Crosby's surgeon available to teams, including Baltimore. Still, the Ravens cited the long-term health concern of his knee as the reason to back out.
The deal to trade Crosby rocked the sports world, but Baltimore's decision to go back on the deal made even more headlines. To add to the criticism, this is not the first time that the Ravens have had some deals that were deemed by the outside world as "shady."
Here is more on the Ravens' "shady" deals from the past.
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Ravens timeline of controversial deals
The Ravens have had three controversial deals in their franchise history, with Crosby being the most recent.
In 1997, there was controversy over how Baltimore backed out of a contract with safety Brock Martin. Then, in 2018, Baltimore was again in the news over a contract, but this time it was because the Ravens voided Ryan Grant's contract after a failed physical.
1997 Brock Marion contract
Marion was a seventh-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1993 NFL Draft. He spent three years with the Cowboys and then hit free agency for the first time in his career. Marion became a well-known player in 1995 when he recorded 114 tackles and six interceptions, both second-best on the team, as the Cowboys went on to win Super Bowl 30 in 1996.
The safety then missed six games and the postseason from the 1996 season due to a left scapula injury that ended his season. On March 18, 1997, he agreed in principle to a four-year contract with Baltimore. Marion then had an X-ray that revealed continued problems with his left shoulder. They attempted to renegotiate the contract, but no agreement was made. On March 20, the Ravens held a press conference that was supposed to be where his signing was announced and made official, but instead, they announced they had backed out of the deal.
Marion returned to Dallas on a one-year deal. He finished the 1997 season with 100 tackles and had 19 in one game, which is the third-most in a game in Cowboys history.
He hit free agency again and this time signed a deal with the Miami Dolphins. Marion played for the Dolphins through the 2003 season and for the Detroit Lions in 2004, ending his career. Overall, he played safety in 182 games and finished with 912 tackles and 31 interceptions in his career.
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2018 Ryan Grant contract
Grant was a wide receiver in the NFL from 2014 to 2019. He was initially drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by Washington and was with the franchise for four years. On March 13, 2018, the Ravens announced that they planned to sign the wideout to a four-year, $29 million contract.
Similar to Crosby and Marion, Grant failed his physical the next day, and Baltimore voided the proposed contract. The Ravens cited an ankle injury as the cause for the failure that happened in the final game of the previous season, per Adam Schefter. Grant went on to pass the Indianapolis Colts' physical and signed a one-year deal with them for the 2018 season. In 10 starts that year, Grant had 334 yards and a touchdown on 35 receptions.
The wide receiver played in 80 career games and had 1,333 yards with seven touchdowns. After the failed deal with Baltimore, he played only two more seasons in the NFL and one season in the Canadian Football League before retiring.
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2026 Maxx Crosby trade
Crosby suffered a knee injury in October 2025 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He played through the injury, thinking it was a knee sprain, but it turned out to be a small tear in his meniscus. After Las Vegas shut him down for the last two games of the season, Crosby finally got surgery in early January 2026.
While it was rumored that the Raiders were looking to trade him, it was expected to be closer to the summer or the season when Crosby would be closer to being fully healthy. It was shocking when, on Friday, March 6, the Ravens traded two first-round picks for Crosby in a massive deal.
Just five days later, Baltimore said that Crosby failed their physical and backed out of the agreement. This decision came about 16 hours before the new league year would have started, and the deal would have been official, adding to the sketchiness of their decision. The Ravens added to the suspicion by signing Trey Hendrickson to a four-year deal the following morning, making it seem like the organization found a way to add a pass-rusher and retain their first-round picks.