Fallout From Ravens’ Decision To Back Out Of Maxx Crosby Trade

The Ravens shockingly backed out of their trade agreement with the Raiders for DE Maxx Crosby Tuesday night. The trade was set to be executed Wednesday at the start of the new league year and would have sent two first-round picks to the Raiders. 

Since then, it’s clear that many around the league are now wondering what this means for teams and players who have already agreed to other moves in the expectation that this trade was going to be completed. 

Here’s a collection of reports regarding the fallout from the Ravens’ decision to back out of the Crosby trade:

• Crosby’s agent, CJ LaBoy, released a statement on social media saying that his client is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from knee surgery: “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.”
• Tom Pelissero reports that the reaction around the league is about “the Ravens pulling the rug out” and backing out of this trade. Pelissero mentions that these types of situations have happened, but not to this level.
• Pelissero stresses that everyone knew about Crosby’s injury and still multiple teams offered more than a first-round pick for him with the Ravens putting two first-round picks on the table.
• Jay Glazer mentions that teams around the NFL are “definitely shocked to say the least” at the Ravens backing out of the Crosby trade. Glazer adds that a few teams who were previously interested have already committed their money elsewhere. making it difficult for them to jump back into the mix for a Crosby deal. 
• James Palmer texted with a source on a team that had a level of interest in Crosby initially. Palmer’s source they’ve been scrambling since the news broke: “So much has changed since that trade. With us. With everybody. WTF“
• Cameron Wolfe spoke with an NFL general manager involved in Maxx Crosby trade talks who said he knew Crosby would be out until June/July coming off meniscus surgery. Wolfe adds that consensus opinion he’s gotten from NFL decision makers is that the Ravens got cold feet and this could now impact how other teams work with Baltimore going forward.
• Vincent Bonsignore reports that the Raiders should have the necessary cap space to welcome Crosby back and still honor all the free agent commitments. 
• Cowboys Not Expected To Re-Engage Maxx Crosby Trade Talks (NFLTR)

Crosby underwent surgery in early January to address a left meniscus injury he suffered during the 2026 season.

Crosby, 28, is a former fourth-round pick of the Raiders back in 2019 out of Eastern Michigan University. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $3,302,264 contract that included a $782,264 signing bonus and was set to make a base salary of $850,000 when he signed a four-year, $98.98 million contract extension with over $53 million guaranteed. 

Crosby was due base salaries of $22.236 million and $18.84 million in the final two years of the deal when he signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension in March 2025.

In 2025, Crosby appeared in 15 games for the Raiders and recorded 73 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, one interception, six pass defenses, and two forced fumbles.