NFL GM Slams Ravens for Pulling Out of Maxx Crosby Trade

HENDERSON, Nev. — Today started like the vast majority of the last several years, with Raiders superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby showing up at the team’s headquarters to go to work at 6 a.m. PT.

It was roughly 13 hours before that shook the National Football League: 5:02 p.m. PT.

Las Vegas Raiders Superstar DE Maxx Crosby — Las Vegas Raiders Superstar Maxx Crosby | Dexter Ernest Wayne Carpenter, Sports Illustrated

The Raiders sent shockwaves through the league and fans with one simple statement on social media: “The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time.”

It wasn’t verbose, but that doesn’t mean it lacked weight.

pic.twitter.com/zXrNfDhDZV
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) March 11, 2026

The blockbuster trade would have sent one of the most popular players in team history to the Ravens in exchange for two potential franchise-altering No. 1 picks on a rebuilding Silver & Black.

But the deal was dead.

Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby from Training Camp — Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby | Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

To say I was shocked is an understatement; to say the Raiders and the National Football League were shocked by the news would be even bigger.

Deals have fallen apart in the past; that wasn’t the shocker, but not like this.

What happened

The Ravens flew Crosby across the country for the traditional physical. According to sources close to the situation, “The Raiders gave the Ravens all of the medical information; nothing was held back.” In fact, I was told early this morning, “They knew everything the Raiders and Maxx’s crew knew. There were no smoking guns. This isn’t good for the Raiders. No way they would have held anything back. That isn’t the way this works.”

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— Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) February 28, 2026

Crosby hadn’t hidden anything from anyone. He had posted videos to his social media and openly spoken about his rehab. Known as an “open book,” the superstar handled this as with everything else he does: forthrightly.

Once the Raiders learned the Ravens had backed out, they were stunned, according to a source close to the situation.

It didn’t take long for Crosby's agent, CJ LaBoy, to speak up. As the internet did what the internet does by going wild with speculation and rumor, he, like his client, addressed the elephant in the room head-on.

Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr Neal El Attrache. Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program & will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past 7 seasons.
— CJ LaBoy (@CJLaBoy) March 11, 2026

“Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery, and if anything, is ahead of schedule,” according to his surgeon, Dr. Neal El Attrache. “Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program & will undoubtedly return as the dominant game-wrecker he has been these past 7 seasons.”

The Fallout

Las Vegas Raiders Superstar DE Maxx Crosby from Training Camp — Las Vegas Raiders Superstar DE Maxx Crosby | Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

One NFL executive speaking on the matter said emphatically, “They [Ravens] knew everything. That is complete bulls---. They have something else cooking.”

Another exec from an AFC team added, “You know he isn’t recovered. This is a three-to-five-month healing process. They had never traded a first [NFL draft first-round pick] before, and they got cold feet.”

Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Another NFL executive said earlier today, “This isn’t a car lot where you get 72 hours or 150 miles to change your mind. They may have had every f---ing right to back out, but that doesn’t make it right.”

An exec from an NFC team added, “You don’t want him? You got cold feet? O.K., but it was unfair to drag the player across the country to say no thanks.”

Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek, and minority owner Tom Brady | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The Repercussions

According to sources, the Raiders plan to honor every free-agent agreement they have made during the legal tampering period. Vegas has already spent over $250 million on contract agreements.

Thanks to the discipline of Dave Ziegler, Tom Telesco and now John Spytek, the Raiders are in a strong position to retain the superstar whose affinity for fans, their owner, and teammates is legendary.

Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The Raiders are already a significantly better team than they were when they initially traded Crosby, but it doesn’t change the fact that they'll be rebuilding, albeit this time they admit it, with a rookie QB.

The Ravens are already being viewed negatively.

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Giants coach John Harbaugh speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

One of the reasons that their offer of two first-round picks was palatable to the Silver & Black is that many around the league feel like John Harbaugh was the glue holding the franchise together, and rookie JC Jesse Minter, highly talented and respected, is still a rookie coach with the odds against him succeeding, let along at a franchise that lost an astonishing amount of talent through the legal tampering of free agency, and a franchise many see trending downward.

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This isn’t on Minter, who, according to sources, “Coveted” Crosby, but as one executive said, “This feels like something from the top,” and added, “reality hit them if I had to guess, and they didn’t have the confidence to trust their original instincts. I don’t know if this deal happened with Harbaugh there, but if it had, this sure as hell wouldn’t have gone the way it did.”

The reality is that one very well-respected agent told me today, “This won’t hurt Baltimore much moving forward. In the end, it is about money for our clients, but I can tell you, based on my conversations, it will hurt them with other executives.”

He added, “Spy [John Spytek], Mark [Davis], and Brady [Tom] look like the heroes in this, honoring every commitment.

What's Next?

We originally said that if a deal for Crosby happened, it would come closer to the NFL draft, or even before training camp started. We said that because, according to doctors, it takes a long time for a meniscus repair to heal.

I wasn’t surprised, given Crosby’s openness about the rehab when discussions started heating up at the NFL combine and teams wanting to get the deal done before free agency.

I have maintained since the possibility of Crosby’s departure became public that the Raiders needed to do all they could to retain their superstar, but that would require both parties to define a pathway forward.

This can be a catalyst for that.

Interested teams

The reality is that Crosby has been very vocal about not wanting to rebuild, even with his love and respect for Mark Davis and Raider Nation.

No sooner had the news broken than NFL teams began swarming like sharks with blood in the water.

Las Vegas Raiders Owner Mark Davis | Dexter Ernest Wayne Carpenter, On SI

Despite the Ravens' “Buyer's remorse,” and other teams valuing and longing to add the many that many feel is the best defender in football, lacking the true respect he deserves, being on a franchise that, for nearly his entire career, can’t seem to get out of its own way.

According to league sources, “The Cowboys, Eagles, Bills and Bears” all remain interested, while others are “window shopping.”

Will a team meet the price the Raiders want? Can the relationship be restored? What does Crosby privately want? None of those will be answered publicly.

Both Crosby and the Raiders have handled the relationship as delicately and carefully as anyone could have hoped.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) watches a replay as the Detroit Lions celebrate a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 5 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. The Bengals continued a losing streak, falling 37-24 to the Lions. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ravens? At 8:23 a.m. ET this morning, roughly 12 hours and 21 minutes after the bombshell by the Raiders, the Ravens found their new guy. Trey Hendrickson agreed to a four-year, $112 million deal that could reach $120 million with incentives, including $60 guaranteed. Essentially, Hendrickson will make $28 million per year, $1 million less per year than Crosby, or as one NFL agent said, “Convenient,” adding, “Feel good for Trey, not his fault, but Maxx and the Raiders didn’t deserve that. It’s just wrong.”

Maxx and Rachel Crosby — Jan 5, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (left) and wife Rachel Washburn attend the game between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Clippers at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images