Ravens' Salary Cap Situation After Stunning Maxx Crosby Trade

Baltimore Ravens fans might still be processing what happened with arguably the biggest trade in franchise history.

The Ravens stunned the NFL world by trading two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for edge rusher Maxx Crosby. It's the first time the Ravens have ever traded a first-round pick as part of a trade for a player, which means for the next two years, they don't have any first-round picks.

There are implications for the Ravens in the draft, as they are now limited in who they can get, but what does it mean for the team with the salary cap? What kind of money will be dealt with entering the new 2026 league year?

Ravens' financial situation after Maxx Crosby trade

The first aspect of the financial situation is looking at the current contract of Crosby. For 2026, Crosby's cap hit is going to be $30.6 million, which accounts for 10.19% of Baltimore's salary cap.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

He's currently on a three-year, $106 million contract extension he signed with the Raiders, which runs through the 2029 season, and will be a free agent in 2030. Over the next two years, Crosby's cap hit is going to be $27.2 million in 2027 and $28.2 million in 2028.

In terms of the salary cap, it puts the Ravens under and in the red. According to Spotrac, they were down $10.2 million under the cap. Over The Cap has the Ravens $12.1 million under the cap in 2026.

What does this mean for the Ravens? Well, one thing this means is that they have some work to do to get under the cap. The number one way to do that is by extending Lamar Jackson's contract and fixing the $74.5 million cap hit they are facing in 2026 and again in 2027.

Besides that, Baltimore might still have to cut a player or two, or trade them, to create enough space to continue doing work. The Ravens would love to have money left over to try to bring back center Tyler Linderbaum or add a piece or two that could further elevate the franchise.

Ravens salary cap expert Brian McFarland added that he believes some kind of restructure will occur with Crosby's contract, as his cap hit could go down as low as $7 million in 2026. While McFarland doesn't believe it will be that low, a restructure is possible that would help the team save some money as well.

To further this, they could do a simple restructure (after trade is official) & could drop Crosby’s cap # into the $7M range. Doubt they go that far & still think a whole new deal gets done. Either way, once acquired, the deal will be redone in some fashion to lower that $30M. https://t.co/dtNT252fuR
— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) March 7, 2026

Overall, this move was necessary, but the financial situation still needs to be worked out a bit to ensure they can stay aggressive in the offseason.

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