Is there a situation brewing between Maxx Crosby and the Raiders?
It’s no secret that Crosby wasn’t happy about the team’s decision to shut him down for the season, and FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer filled in a few blanks on Crosby’s mindset on Sunday.
“I’ve been on the phone with Maxx a bunch over the last couple days,” Glazer said on FOX NFL Sunday.
“[Maxx] is not happy. He’s like, ‘Jay, I play football. This is what I do, I’ve had a knee injury since like Week 3, I’ve played with it the entire time. They told me they’re shutting me down. I was like, No, absolutely not. I play football. There’s no shutting it down for me. I want to be out there. I want to be out there with my teammates.’”
“It just wasn’t acceptable to Maxx,” Glazer continued. “Remember back at the trade deadline, guys, I said that Maxx Crosby told me and told the Raiders, ‘I don’t want to get traded anywhere, no matter what.’ You got to wonder now if that still holds true, despite this.”
An ESPN report over the weekend said Crosby is dealing with a meniscus issue that will require surgery at the end of the year, and according to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer, Crosby got two second opinions on the knee prior to the Raiders ending his season.
“Whether Crosby needed surgery was never in question; that much was known in October,” Breer reported on Monday. “The gray area was how long he could play before shutting it down. Several doctors the team consulted with said the damage was much greater than it had been earlier in the season, and that it would be unreasonable for him to continue playing.”
“Crosby sought two second opinions, had respected doctors tell him he’d be fine to finish out the season and then have surgery,” Breer continued.
“However, the Raiders decided to shut him down, leading to an incensed Crosby leaving the facility on Friday. Crosby already knew that team brass might be more interested in pursuing the No. 1 pick than beating the Giants this week or a depleted Chiefs team in Week 18, and would sit him as part of that pursuit. Vegas, meanwhile, viewed it as protecting Crosby’s future and giving him the best shot at getting back to full health and participating in the 2026 offseason…”
As for Crosby’s relationship with the Raiders, Breer suggested there was a breakdown somewhere in the communication process.
“[Crosby has] been steadfast in wanting to make it work in the Silver & Black,” Breer said.
“That said, the five-time Pro Bowler didn’t like the decision to shut him down being taken out of his hands, and didn’t like how it was communicated to him. Tom Brady’s longtime body coach, Alex Guerrero, who’s now in an elevated role in the organization, is part of the equation here, too.”
“My sense is this will likely lead Crosby to consider all of his options. He’ll be 29 by the start of next season and has a lot of mileage on his body after finishing each of the past three seasons hurt. His contract is tradeable, and the Raiders still look like they’re a couple of good offseasons away from contending.”
After leaving the building on Thursday, Crosby brought a little extra attention to the situation by way of his Instagram account when he posted videos of himself playing basketball and jumping on a trampoline at his home.
Some noted that Crosby seemed to be keeping weight off his left knee and shooting off his right leg – which is not particularly common for right-handed shooters aside from Nikola Jokic.
As NBC Sports host Mike Florio pointed out on Sunday, if Glazer is hinting that Crosby might not be happy in Las Vegas, it’s fair to wonder if Crosby told Glazer more than what he has reported at this early stage in the process.
If Glazer is Crosby’s guy in the media, he isn’t going to float information that doesn’t line up with Crosby’s thinking.
As for what Crosby is actually thinking, there’s a chance he wants to see what the Raiders do with Pete Carroll before he takes a strong position on his future with the organization.
x: @raidersbeat
Like I said, I want to keep Maxx. Brady’s butt boys in this organization need to not be involved.
Get the #1 pick, get your offensive minded HC, then tell Brady to butt out and we can build next year