The Baltimore Ravens have acquired defensive end Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2026 & 2027 first round pick.
The deal, which will be officially processed next week, adds a proven pass rusher to the Ravens lineup as they look to finally get over the hump in the Lamar Jackson era. Crosby will count for $30.7M against the cap and is under team control for the next four seasons.
“I cannot believe that this is a real thing,” Crosby said on his podcast. “It has been seven years with being with the Nation. Raider Nation has given me everything. You know, my family. I had the chance to get married. Have the most beautiful daughter in the world. Grow as a man. As a player, as a leader, as a human being. One thing I could say above all else is that I gave y’all everything I got. And I do not have any regrets about that.”
“I put everything to try to win as a Raider … It is tough, man. It has been a journey. Since the day I got drafted. I will never forget … Getting a call from Jon Gruden, giving me an opportunity of a lifetime to be a Raider. And it felt perfect. Ever since I have been here, I have had one goal and one mission. And that is to become the best version of myself and help bring a championship back to the Raiders organization.”
The deal is the first time in the 31 year history of the Ravens organization that the team has traded a first round pick for a player. The impetus to get a deal done came together quickly after Chicago began clearing cap space to make a run at the former Raider, while teams like Dallas had reportedly tabled an offer of a 1st and a 2nd round pick in an attempt to pry him away from Vegas.
Crosby will become a plug and play disruptive force for new Ravens coach Jesse Minter. Since 2019, Crosby has 360 quarterback pressures, which is 29 more than the next-closest player. An area in which Baltimore struggled last year despite having an above average defensive unit in most other statistical categories.
Throughout his seven-year career, Crosby has amassed 69.5 sacks, 439 total tackles, and 11 forced fumbles over 110 games. A 5x Pro Bowler, and 2x second team All-Pro, the 28 year old joins a defensive unit that recorded only 30 sacks last season, which was the 3rd fewest in the NFL.
The Ravens featured the 10th best run defence in the league, and 6th best Red Zone defence, but gave up the 3rd most yards through the air on average to opposing quarterbacks. A large reason for that was due to the team’s inability to get after the other team’s quarterback on a regular basis.
Now, Crosby will join a defensive unit already featuring the likes of Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, and Nnamdi Madubuike amongst others. If the group can stay healthy, they figure to be amongst the better units in the NFL in 2026.
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