The Ravens have their story about how the Maxx Crosby trade fell apart, but other teams are not buying it. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Baltimore is privately facing criticism for backing out of the trade. While their medical concerns about Crosby’s surgery may be valid, it is the view of other general managers that the risk is part of doing business.
“What other people—and I’m talking about many current and former GMs—unanimously said to me is, ‘This is buyer’s remorse. It is dirty pool. It’s BS by the Ravens’”, Pelissero told Rich Eisen about the Ravens’ backing out of the trade for Maxx Crosby. “You are accepting this risk. This is not an unknown injury for Maxx Crosby. He was on the injury report the whole season, he didn’t practice much, gets shut down against his will with two weeks to go. Had surgery. Took photos before and after the surgery”.
Crosby is one of the elite pass rushers in the NFL and is still under 30 years of age. The Ravens agreed to trade two first-round picks in exchange for Crosby, but reneged prior to the new league year. While they were entirely within their rights, other teams seem to object to the notion that this is anything more than changing their minds.
According to Peliserro, based on what other teams told him who were trying to trade for Crosby before the Ravens outbid them, his agent was “very upfront” about the injury, the surgery, and recovery period. “’The doctors are saying he’s not gonna be cleared until June. He’s not gonna do anything in the spring, but come training camp, come the season, he’s going to be ready to roll’”, his agent told teams.
After backing out of the Crosby trade, the Ravens turned around and signed Trey Hendrickson, instead. Coming off an injury-plagued season, Hendrickson is another one of the elite pass rushers in the NFL. Public perception strongly favors the notion that Baltimore preferred Hendrickson over giving up two first-round picks for Crosby. That, coupled with the fact that they backed out in the first place, is not sitting well.
“The question becomes, should they essentially have been accepting of the risks”, Pelissero said of how the Ravens’ conduct is going over with other teams. In his conversations with other general managers, he repeatedly used the word unanimous. Every team understands the risks involved with injuries like this beforehand. The Ravens had no business even initiating the process if they were going to change their mind.
It’s also worth noting that Pelissero says the Ravens consulted other teams’ doctors while assess Maxx Crosby in anticipation of a trade. Crosby only had surgery a short time ago to repair a torn meniscus. He was obviously nowhere near ready to “pass” a physical. And there are no indications that they found something so surprising that it completely changed their outlook on his recovery.
While there are no grounds whatsoever for the Ravens to be disciplined for backing out of the Crosby trade, there could be consequences based on how other teams view their front office and how they do business. Ravens GM Eric DeCosta denied that, saying it hasn’t stopped his phone from ringing, but time will tell.
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