It’s fair to assume no one expected the Baltimore Ravens’ monster trade for Maxx Crosby to fall through on Tuesday night.
Yes, players are required to pass a physical after deals are announced, and Crosby is coming off a significant torn meniscus injury that won’t be easy to recover from. Still, it appeared that the Ravens would have no issues officially prying the veteran Defensive end from the Las Vegas Raiders by sending two first-round picks to the struggling AFC franchise.
Clearly, though, the Ravens felt compelled to refrain from acquiring Crosby at the last second. Shortly after the unsuccessful trade, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky stated that the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Eagles should target the 28-year-old as soon as possible.
Based on a recent report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, it’ll be challenging for any of those teams to land Crosby this offseason.
“Obviously, it only takes one team, and Crosby’s a great player,” Breer wrote Wednesday. “But there’s a reason why so few nonquarterbacks, even near Crosby’s age, have been dealt for the haul that the Raiders were supposed to get for him.”
“But since Friday, teams that were interested have moved forward, spent their cash and cap budgets, filled their rosters, and can’t go back on the commitments they’ve made for the chance that they land Crosby in a trade. As such, there will be fewer teams positioned to make a big offer and execute a trade, which only exacerbates the added injury concern from this saga. So getting anything close to what Baltimore agreed to will be hard.”
Out of the teams Orlovsky listed as potential suitors for Crosby, the Bills may be the most underrated landing spot. Although the Bills may not be in the best financial situation, they could use Crosby’s now-decreased trade value to their advantage if they elect to go all-in on one of the hottest commodities on the trade market.
Crosby, who’s recorded at least seven sacks in each of his first seven NFL seasons, should be on Buffalo’s radar going forward at the very least.
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