One of the biggest stories of the offseason was the failed trade that would have sent Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens. The trade ultimately fell through after Crosby reportedly failed his physical exam, even though he was never expected to pass that exam following his season-ending knee injury last season.
Crosby ultimately remained with the Raiders and is currently preparing for the upcoming season. While the failed trade was a huge story at the time, it sounds like Crosby is done talking about it.
Blockbuster Trade Fell Through
A few days after the trade was announced, the Raiders announced in a short statement on social media that the Ravens had “pulled out” of the trade.
“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.
NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that the trade was called off after Crosby failed his physical exam. 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, and many around the league believed that the Ravens simply got “cold feet.”
“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.”
Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta pushed back against that claim as he said that he was “gutted” that they couldn’t make the trade work.
“We were really excited about adding Maxx, potentially adding Maxx to our team,” DeCosta said at the time. “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.”
Ultimately, after the trade fell through, both the Raiders and Crosby decided to move forward together and did not seek another trade partner.
‘Water Under the Bridge’
While this was undeniably the biggest story in the NFL at the time, Crosby is no longer interested in talking about it as he prepares for the upcoming season.
“I don’t really want to talk about that, to be honest. It’s water under the bridge. It’s a long time ago,” Crosby said via Pro Football Talk. “I’m here and I want to be here and I’m excited to be here and I’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s water under the bridge.”
As for his health, Crosby is still rehabbing his knee injury. However, he is attending voluntary offseason workouts with the team and said that he is “almost back” to being healthy enough to fully participate in practice.
“I want to be out there and be part of the team,” Crosby said. “I just love what I do and I love playing football and I love being on the field.”
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.