Maxx Crosby was nearly a Raven; in hindsight, he’s glad that he’s not, addressing the failed trade for the first time publicly. On his podcast, he discussed the five-day sequence from the moment he learned the Raiders were preparing to trade him until his return to Las Vegas. Through it all, he claims it taught him how much the Raiders mean to him.
“That whole situation was probably one of the most unique, crazy, wild, up-and-down rollercoaster[s] I’ve ever been a part of”, Crosby said of nearly joining the Ravens via trade. After agreeing in principle to a deal in exchange for two first-round picks, Baltimore backed out. Medical concerns stemming from a recent knee surgery is the purported reason for the change of heart.
“No one will ever admit, either side, what the real truth is, whatever. Ultimately, it doesn’t even matter. I am where I’m supposed to be, I know that”, he added. Crosby talked about how Ravens doctors took a series of scans, and the team kept him waiting. He said he expected to talk to GM Eric DeCosta, but didn’t see him for five hours. When he eventually met HC Jesse Minter, he said “the energy was a little bit off”.
Eventually, the Ravens told Maxx Crosby the news. “I don’t know how to say this, but one of our doctors has concerns with the results with your knee. Some of them are concerned about the future”, he said. They told him they wanted to seek additional opinions and they would get back to him.
The news threw Crosby, who believed he was doing everything necessary in his rehab. “I was terrified”, he admitted, the Ravens’ doctors causing him to fear something was wrong. He went into detail about how his team was very upfront with potential trade partners about his current status. Many around the league also fault the Ravens for not being understanding of Crosby’s situation.
About five minutes after the Ravens called Crosby again insisting they wanted to make the trade work, his agent called him to tell him it was off. “I’m fucking livid, confused, the whole nine all in one”, he said. And then he realized something. “I wasn’t supposed to be in Baltimore. And that’s it. I’m meant to be a Raider, that’s to my damn core”.
Of course, once the Ravens backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade, they quickly turned around and signed Trey Hendrickson. Fortunately for Baltimore, it’s not worried about optics, because it doesn’t look good from the outside. Many feel they just didn’t want to give up the draft capital when it became clear to them signing Hendrickson would be a ready option.
Apparently, even Maxx Crosby questions what the Ravens, and perhaps the Raiders, told him about the trade. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be talking about people admitting “the real truth”. But ultimately, the Ravens did nothing wrong, technically. Even if they conjured an excuse, they were under no obligation to make the trade.
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