Maxx Crosby didn’t need to see the paperwork fall apart to know he wasn’t leaving Las Vegas. He felt it in Baltimore, before the Ravens ever backed out.
The Raiders sent Crosby to Baltimore in a deal that would have brought Las Vegas two first-round picks, one of the biggest trades of the offseason. Then the Ravens pulled out after Crosby’s physical raised concerns about his surgically repaired knee, and just like that, the five-time Pro Bowler was a Raider again. According to Sports Illustrated, ESPN had reported Baltimore’s medical staff flagged a degenerative issue with Crosby’s knee, though Raiders sources pushed back on that being the sole reason the deal collapsed.
Crosby told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated that something felt off from the moment he landed in Baltimore, even before the physical happened.
“I just felt like in that situation, it didn’t feel right when it was happening,” Crosby said, via Sports Illustrated. “It felt like the world was telling me I’m not leaving, even when I was in the Baltimore city limits.”
He described watching Raiders news from afar during those days, unable to escape the noise. Every offseason signing, every headline, felt like a sign pointing him back home. He said it made him laugh more than anything else — a mix of disbelief and relief that he wasn’t there to see it play out from the outside.
Why the fit with the new Raiders regime matters
Part of what makes Crosby’s comfort believable is who’s running things now. New coach Klint Kubiak, general manager John Spytek and owner Mark Davis handled the canceled trade in a way that repaired whatever tension existed between Crosby and the franchise that drafted him in 2019 — tension that traced back to a dispute over how the team managed a torn meniscus early in his career. Spytek told JT The Brick the front office welcomed Crosby back “like he never left,” according to Sports Illustrated.
That goodwill is being tested in real time. Michael Mayer, the Raiders’ second-round tight end, defended new starting quarterback Kirk Cousins after a heated exchange with Crosby during a padded practice this past week, following a tipped pass. Mayer didn’t extend the same defense to Crosby.
“We don’t want to be throwing punches, but I think on any padded day of camp, there’s going to be some tussles,” Mayer said, per the Associated Press, as reported by Last Word on Sports.
The scuffle has reignited trade speculation that never fully went away. Analyst Adam Schefter said earlier this offseason that Crosby would likely stay in Las Vegas for now but could be dealt closer to the trade deadline if the season goes sideways, and reports this week have floated the Dallas Cowboys as a potential landing spot given Crosby’s recent public praise of quarterback Dak Prescott. None of that is confirmed by the Raiders or Crosby’s camp — it remains speculation, not an agreed-upon deal.
What Crosby says now
Whatever happens on the field, Crosby was direct with Breer about wanting to finish what he started in silver and black.
“I never wanted to leave in the first place,” he said. “I don’t do business. I’m not on the business side… I’m going to be the best Raider I can be for as long as I possibly can be.”
He also acknowledged there was a low point during the limbo of the failed trade, though he declined to detail it. What he did share was a shift in mindset — a decision not to feed public speculation about his situation, even when it would have been easy to react.
For now, Crosby is working to rebuild timing and muscle memory after missing OTAs, and he says his knee feels good heading into a season where the Raiders hope a retooled roster, built around a string of free-agent additions, can finally turn the corner. Whether Crosby is still wearing silver and black by the trade deadline is a separate question — one that camp scuffles and rival interest will keep alive all season.
