Last week, the Baltimore Ravens and the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to a blockbuster trade that would send star defensive end Maxx Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for two first-round picks. However, that trade fell through, and now the Ravens have explained their side of the story.
On Tuesday, the Raiders announced that the Ravens had “pulled out” of the blockbuster deal for the star defensive end.
“The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time,” the Raiders announced in a short statement on Tuesday.
NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that Crosby failed his physical exam, leading the Ravens to call off the trade. However, she also reported that the Ravens had “all the information” on Crosby’s recovery and knew that he would not pass the physical before they agreed to the trade.
“It’s been made clear by multiple people around the NFL at all levels that Baltimore had all the information and understood where Maxx Crosby’s knee was in terms of his recovery timeline,” Russini wrote in a post on X. “Many in the league believe GM Eric DeCosta and the Ravens ultimately just got cold feet.”
However, despite those claims, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta responded with a clear message.
“We were really excited about adding Maxx, potentially adding Maxx to our team,” DeCosta said via Pro Football Talk. “I had already begun discussions with John Spytek, those discussions continued, we were really thinking that we were getting some traction. We did. As part of the normal trade process, there were a lot of different parts with the trade process, we’ve done a lot of trades. One of the key things is you bring a player in and try to get as much information as you can. We were not able to complete the process of trading for the player, based on our assessment of the situation.”
“I’ve got a responsibility to the Ravens,” DeCosta continued. “I understand how people from afar would feel that way, but nobody’s more upset about this than me. Gutted by it, actually, a big regret for me.”
Obviously, it’s a wild situation, but the Ravens insist they were just looking out for the best interest of their own team.