The Maxx Crosby Trade Situation is a Disaster

What a goddamn mess.

I mean, this is a, this is a straight-up goddamn mess.

Like what, like, like, I, I, I don't even know how else to put it.

So we should probably go through, um, we should probably like kind of dig through the, uh, The mechanics of it and like how we got here right so like I think that's important because I, I don't expect people to know the mechanics of how a trade happens um but Um, I think this is the important.

There's a couple of like interesting twists here to this story that I think people don't know that got us to where we are.

Um, number one, when you're coming down the stretch of a trade, and I think you know this, Connor, uh, basically, what will happen is the team that's trading the player will give their trainer permission.

To talk to the other team's trainer, right?

At that point, there will be an exchange of medical information.

There's an NFL system that houses all of this information as well, and so they'll be able to trade all of the pertinent medical information.

And so because of that.

There generally aren't very many surprises when a team actually gets its hands on a player, right, which is why so many other teams were kind of, it offended their senses to see it go down this way.

It's like, generally, you get a guy in for a physical, you know what you're getting, you know what I mean?

Like it's, it just is, you know, it's, most of it's black and white, and there's a great level of trust between medical people and trainers across the league.

They don't lie to each other, you know.

So, there's that piece of it.

And that happened on Friday morning, where, you know, the Raiders allowed for the Ravens people to go through the medical records and they traded information and they talked.

And so at that point, like they have a baseline now.

One of my first questions, and I don't know if anybody else had this question, but maybe it's just the way that my, my mind works, was, why the hell didn't the Ravens put Max Crosby on a plane right away, right?

That was my same, my exact question.

OK, so here's the reason.

So Max Crosby had a long-standing scheduled.

Um, sobriety anniversary party, which is very significant for him personally, right?

That was Saturday night, OK, um, I believe Shabuzi played that party.

Uh, yeah, if you get Shibuzi, you can't back out.

I think Shabuzi, we played that party.

There was video of them on the internet.

So when they were talking about, OK, like when do we bring you out, he's out west, and it's Friday night when the trade gets done.

Why don't you just have your party, do what you gotta do, first thing Monday morning, get on a plane, come out here.

Um, and that was the way they set it up.

So, Saturday night, Sunday, you know, you know, just hang out, chill.

Monday morning, come on in.

So, Monday morning, he flies, well, it's a three-hour time difference.

So he doesn't get to Baltimore until early evening.

On Monday, on Monday, so now it's, we'll just come in Tuesday morning and we'll do the physical.

That's how much of a formality this was seen as, you know.

And so then Tuesday morning he comes in and they get their hands on him and obviously that's where everything changed, um, so that, that piece of the mechanics I think is really important as to how we got here is Friday.

The exchange of medical information happens.

Tuesday, we don't, Tuesday, we're sitting there and like, oh my God, what happened?

You know what I mean?

Like Tuesday night.

So that piece of it, I think is important.

Uh, here's the other piece that I think is really pertinent, and I know you know this.

Um, This isn't black and white.

It's not a pass fail like a pass fail in school, right?

They more or less, they more or less give you a score.

Um, or a grade, uh, medically, right?

Like that's the way these things work.

And so, for example, in the draft , the way this would work is your doctor, say a guy has a degenerative, like a really good player, but has a degenerative knee condition, right?

Like, so let's just say that player exists in this year's draft.

Well, the doctor might say, I'm gonna give him a score that makes it OK for my coaches, my GM.

To take this guy in the 4th round, but I cannot sign off on making a 1st round investment in the guy, right?

Well, the same thing applies to veteran players, obviously.

And so if Max Crosby were traded for a 7th round pick and was making $5 million this year, you know what, the Ravens probably pass him.

But where this becomes gray is the investment that they're making, because this becomes a much more serious decision.

So the risk assessment equation is completely different.

All right.

So now the risk assessment equation is completely different.

Well, if you're Eric DeCosta and the doctor comes to you and says, I don't know, man, like, like, because this was never about whether, whether it'll be ready for week one.

The doctor looks at it like, I don't know, man, like, like by the end of 2027 we might have a problem here, you know, like this is a longevity issue, and that's what the injury that he had is like would create, it can be, I mean, the, the, the meniscus injury can, can, can, can be a precursor for arthritis, usually is a precursor for arthritis, um.

You know, now, if you're Eric DeCosta, you might still really like the player in the here and now, but can you justify turning over two first-round picks for him?

Or not, right.

And so that's the question, and the Raiders are pissed and justifiably so, I would be too, um, you know, I like, does, is it fishy?

Yes.

Like it does seem fishy, you know, and do I believe that they were gonna acquire both Max Crosby and Trey Hendrickson?

No, I don't.

I don't believe that .

Like I think they may have been pursuing both of them, but they weren't gonna, there, there was no way they were.

I don't think there was any way they were gonna get both of them.

So, I think Trey Hendrickson was a pivot off of, off of Crosby, when they saw there was trouble with Crosby, you know, um.

But you know, it's like I, I think it's like DeCosta said, it's like it's, it's hard because it's like sort of what are you supposed to do and you know, and, and, and it's like you're kind of between a rock and a hard place at that point because you're either gonna violate the trust of the Raiders, which again, the Raiders have a reason to be pissed off.

They gave them all the medical information.

It's not like they were hiding anything, right?

So you either violate the trust of the Raiders, violate the trust of Max Crosby, or You do something that could be damaging for your franchise that might not be responsible per your doctors, and that's where you are.

The other part of this to me and to everybody, right, that I think is critical is the timing of when the Ravens first made contact with Trey Hendrickson, um, and, and, and then there's some other kind of background information that I think is worth sharing here.

Well, if we're being honest about it, like, They were, uh, they, they, I'm sure they talked to his, to his agent at the combine.

Well, sure, right, you know, but I think here's where it looks, and, and, and this is what I wrote after Albert.

I said, it doesn't really matter.

I mean, the truth obviously matters, um, but it doesn't in the sense that The order of events unfolded so nefariously that it's going to be impossible for the larger population to accept the fact that this is a, just a timeline of random inconveniences, you know what I'm saying?

And I think what's, what's deeply troubling about it.

Is that Baltimore did have a famous failed physical under DeCosta before this in 2018 when they failed a healthy Ryan Grant for Michael Crabtree when Michael Crabtree became available.

And so doing that and then spinning it forward to this time where again, I mean, all this could be happening on a totally reasonable timeline.

Uh, I don't know Eric DeCosta to be a nefarious individual.

I don't.

And, and, and I think that some people have those reputations, some don't .

I have not heard that about him in my 15 years of covering the NFL.

But, When you get to the point.

Where you maybe start to pivot toward Trey Hendrickson, when Trey Hendrickson's day one market starts to dip below what we expected it to dip below, and, and whatever, only slightly.

Um, I think that adds to the what's going on here factor for a lot of people, right?

And, and, and, and I'll spin it forward like this.

I think that the, I think that the Ravens are to blame.

I think the Raiders a little bit are to blame and are kind of skirting blame here because again, I mean, I, I understand Crosby had his long planned celebration, but if you're a GM or anything like that, you gotta get, you gotta get this thing closed up, right?

You got, and you gotta know that it's buttoned up and you can't go out and spend over a quarter billion dollars without knowing that it's buttoned up, right?

Um, I, I think that well, the Ravens lost 7 starters, which I mean, how many of those do you think we're gonna come back?

Honestly, all right, so I'd have to have the list in front of me.

Linderbaum, no, right, likely likely, likely, maybe, um, likely maybe.

Um, I'm gonna have to pull up the Ravens losses, OK.

So, Um, I think Charlie Collar or likely, I think they probably, I think there's a good chance they bring one or the other back, right?

You would assume Ricard's gone because that's gonna be a different kind of offense, right?

Right.

They need Ricard's gone.

I think Linderbaum, the price was just too much, right, um.

I know they were trying to keep Draymond Jones, was, were they willing to go to 10 million?

Like that, like, uh, that's believable to me, like that, like, all right, like if, you know, if you're not like, cause Crosby, here's the thing about Crosby too, is Crosby wasn't going to, uh, Crosby was comfortable going into 2025 or 2026 on his current contract.

But it was with the thought that potentially I could be in for another huge payday.

This is his last year of guaranteed money.

If I play well and Will Anderson Jr.

signs, then I could be looking at 50, you know what I mean?

Like after this year.

And so like I think that's part of the equation too.

You can't look at like Trey Hendrickson.

I don't think it's gonna be asking for $50 million after the year.

That could happen with Max Crosby, which makes it harder to justify bringing Draymond Jones back, who they were trying to bring back.

So I would say, and then the other one would maybe be Jordan Stout, which like that's like a little easier to wrap your head around, you know what I mean?

Like where, like I, I think it's one of the, I think it's the guys that would be in question for me would be.

Maybe they bring back one of the tight ends, or Draymond Jones or Stout.

Not all three, but maybe they have somebody in that group that they're able to, to bring back.