One day removed from their decision to rescind the Maxx Crosby trade due to a failed physical, the Baltimore Ravens have signed free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a 4 year, $112M contraction. If all incentives are hit, the deal could be worth as much as $120M, and features $60M in guaranteed money.
According to reports, after agreeing to send two 1st round picks to Las Vegas in exchange for Maxx Crosby, Baltimore had concerns with the state of Crosby’s left knee. The star pass rusher underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus, something that the Ravens were acutely aware of when they made the deal initially.
Every signing and trade at the NFL level is subject to a physical, with no deal becoming “official” until the medical examination takes place. And despite the flurry of announcements over the last few days, no deal can technically become official until the start of the new league year on March 11th at 4pm ET. As such, even though the deal was struck in principle, it was never an official NFL transaction.
Some insiders around the league have already reported that several teams are displeased with how the Ravens handled the situation and are chalking it up to “buyers remorse” rather than any genuine concerns with Crosby’s health.
For their part, Las Vegas has kept things professional on the surface, simply stating “The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time.” However news of their displeasure has spread like wildfire in the hours since the news broke, as the team suddenly finds themselves in a cap predicament with Crosby’s salary suddenly coming back onto their books.
With Crosby’s rights reverting back to the Raiders, Baltimore suddenly has both of their first round picks back, while Vegas now has another star pass rusher on their hands, but a complicated cap situation. After dealing Crosby with the assumption that the team had cleared out a $35M cap hit in 2026, Vegas added C Tyler Linderbaum (3 years, $81M), EDGE Kwity Paye (3 years, $48M), LB’s Quay Walker (3 years, $40.5M), and Nakobe Dean (3 years, $36M), WR Jailen Nailor (3 years, $35M), and K Matt Gaye (1 year, $1.6M).
Which now begs the $94M question: Will Crosby still be a Raider when the NFL kicks off later this year?
Numerous other clubs, including the Dallas Cowboys, had made offers to Vegas prior to the Ravens deal being agreed to. However, with some extra negotiation time, and subsequent trades, the number of teams who are interested in bringing in the veteran defensive lineman, and have the required cap space and draft capital to do so has shrunk.
Dallas brought in Rashan Gary from Green Bay. Carolina just inked Jaelan Phillips to a $30M per season deal. And even the Bengals who find themselves bidding adieu to Hendrickson have dished out $20M per season to bring in Boye Mafe.
There’s undoubtedly been calls between front offices to see what it would take to work out a new Crosby focused deal. But whether Vegas can anticipate receiving the same package as they got from Baltimore remains to be seen.
On the one hand, if another club steps up and completes a deal with a similar pick structure, it’s vindication for the Raiders and a cautionary tale about doing business with Baltimore that other GMs are sure to take note of. If however Baltimore’s concerns about Crosby’s medicals prove to be true, then Vegas could be looking at retaining their disgruntled star, or accepting a significantly lower payout than they were banking on some 24 hours prior.
There’s also the possibility that a deal could be completed later this offseason, possibly post June 1st, as teams look to spread out cap hits or have a better idea of what their roster looks like following some additional weeks of free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft. That outcome seems less favourable to the Raiders who were clearly hoping to surround what many assume will be QB Fernando Mendoza with as many weapons as possible rather than hoping that they can suddenly contend with Crosby back on the roster in the ultra-competitive AFC West.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.