Ravens GM Explains Why Maxx Crosby Trade Fell Through

On Tuesday, the Raiders stunningly announced that the Maxx Crosby trade was off. The Raiders agreed to trade Maxx Crosby to the Ravens for a pair of first-round picks last Friday, which would have sent the disgruntled defensive end to a team in desperate need of pass rush help.

Instead the Ravens backed out of the move before it became official at the start of the new league year on Wednesday. In a shocking statement on Tuesday the Raiders said simply, “The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time.”

Not long after the Raiders made the announcement, reports came out sharing that Crosby did not pass his physical with the Ravens. Crosby’s agent CJ LaBoy said on social media, “Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr. Neal [ElAttrache]. Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program and will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past seven seasons.”

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that three general managers believe the Ravens got cold feet as everyone already knew about Crosby’s knee.

On Wednesday, the Ravens got to share their side as general manager Eric DeCosta took time to speak to reporters.

According to Jeff Zrebeic of The Athletic, DeCosta said that after they brought Crosby in, they were unable to complete the process of the trade.

"I've got a responsibility to the Ravens, to this community, to the fans and to Steve Bisciotti to do what we think is best for the club,” DeCosta noted, per Breer. “And that's what we try to do. Every decision we make is based on this idea, is this what's best for the Ravens?"

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta: "I've got a responsibility to the Ravens, to this community, to the fans and to Steve Bisciotti to do what we think is best for the club. And that's what we try to do. Every decision we make is based on this idea, is this what's best for the Ravens?"
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 11, 2026

More: The NFL Is to Blame for the Environment that Caused the Maxx Crosby Mess

Zrebeic noted that DeCosta did not bring up Crosby’s medicals as a reason for calling off the move. DeCosta did not delve into specifics, but did express remorse that the deal did not go through.

"Nobody's more upset about this than me,” DeCosta said. “Gutted by it, actually. Big regret for me. But we will move on as a football team."

“I got a lot of respect for Mark Davis John Spytek, the Raiders. It’s devastating for me to have that conversation. It’s also very, very hard for the player,” DeCosta said, via Zrebeic.

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta on why Maxx Crosby trade was rescinded: “Not able to complete the process of acquiring the player based on our assessment of the situation.”

“Nobody is more disappointed than me,” he said. pic.twitter.com/dHAH5EOnaw
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) March 11, 2026

Not long after the Ravens backed off Crosby, they quickly moved to sign defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a four-year deal worth up to $120 million. DeCosta clarified that talks with Hendrickson started after the Ravens missed out on re-signing center Tyler Linderbaum, who agreed to a record-breaking deal with the Raiders. They were interested in pairing Hendrickson with Crosby, but ultimately decided against going through with trading for Crosby. They will now move forward with Hendrickson as their main pass rusher.

“I don’t know what we could do differently. It was a really tough call,” DeCosta said. He added, “... This has affected a lot of people. It saddens me that the deal didn’t go through.”

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