The Baltimore Ravens backing out of a trade for Maxx Crosby with the Las Vegas Raiders has sent shockwaves through the NFL.
Teams moved through the legal tampering period of free agency under the impression that Crosby would be a Raven. That pretense proved false on Tuesday night when the Raiders announced the deal was nixed.
“We will have no further comment at this time,” the team said in a statement shared across its social media accounts.
While the Raiders are recalibrating in silence, the rest of the NFL is buzzing about what occurred.
As multiple sources have cited medical concerns from Crosby’s physical, Baltimore also has a precedent of rescinding deals. ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted the Ravens have backed out of two previous deals in 1997 and 2018 over medical concerns.
However, Crosby’s knee injury wasn’t a revelation to many around the NFL.
“This isn’t an unknown issue. Everyone knew he had a knee injury and ended the season on IR. Everyone knew he had a meniscus repair that has a longer term recovery timeline. He was in Baltimore today and, clearly, something happened,” Pelissero said Tuesday on NFL Network. “The reaction from other people within the NFL that I am getting is predominantly about how the Ravens pulled the rug out regardless of what their reasoning was. This just does not happen.
“One GM summarized the feelings around the league: ‘This is very much (expletive) on Baltimore’s part,’ ” Pelissero added in a post on X.
Former Raiders linebacker Will Compton chimed in on the situation, noting Crosby has been active on his knee after meniscus surgery in January.
“Something ain’t adding up,” Compton said in a video on X. “I get it Maxx is coming off of his knee. But you’ve seen videos of him operating on his knee, playing basketball. I don’t doubt Maxx Crosby is going to be ready to go. If something else happens, like other teams aren’t going to fail him physical-wise… but this is not the first time something has happened like this with the Ravens.”
The Ravens pulling the rug out on the Raiders & Maxx Crosby —not the first time that organization has pulled a move like this
Take a seat by the fire & let me take you back to 2018 pic.twitter.com/uIinyoAyfG
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) March 11, 2026
Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes aired out the question all fans are asking: “Sooo max back?”
Sooo max back?
— Eric Stokes Jr (@_jamane_) March 11, 2026
It’s difficult to sense what the Raiders will do next.
“This puts the Raiders in an incredibly difficult situation. They lose the picks, they have a bunch of deals to be finalized tomorrow done under the assumption Maxx Crosby was gone, and now they may have to turn around and trade him again with the medical question hovering,” insider Albert Breet wrote on X.
Crosby’s agent attempted to clear the air, posting the following statement on X: “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.”
However, as more details unfold about what Field Yates called “the biggest question in the NFL,” Raiders fans are bracing for what could come next.
Contact Trevor Squire at tsquire@reviewjournal.com Follow him at @trevordsquire on X for more.
