The Raiders were close to trading Maxx Crosby in March, but according to reports at the time, the Ravens backed out of their verbal agreement to acquire Crosby after reviewing the medical information on his surgically repaired knee.
It is widely believed that the Ravens stumbled into a cheaper alternative to Crosby in Trey Hendrickson and chose to pull out of the deal, but it could be a while before anyone in Baltimore will be willing to confirm a story like that.
Regardless of what happened, Crosby was the player at the center of the botched trade, and he said this week that no one reporting on the botched deal has gotten it right.
“I don’t get into details on that because, you know, it’s a business. People, to this day, have no idea of what happened. Not one person has been right. And I just got to sit here and listen to all the (b.s),” Crosby told USA Today columnist Jarrett Bell.
“And that’s the part about being a man. I can sit here and be like everybody else. Spill everything. You know what I mean? I think being quiet is peaceful. I don’t want to be like anybody else. I don’t want to have any drama in my life. I like my life very simple. My girls are my world. My football is my world,” Crosby continued.
“I know the truth. Everybody that was involved knows what really transpired. I’ve moved forward. I don’t dwell on (stuff). That’s the one thing about me I try to inspire all the people in my circle, and my teammates. Stop worrying about yesterday. Stop thinking about tomorrow. If you just master where you’re at, like truly being present, you’re going to have better results.”
Raiders have a “pissed off” Maxx Crosby
After everything that happened around him in the last six months, the consensus seems to be that Crosby will come back more motivated than ever, and one of his former teammates, Gerald McCoy, confirmed that storyline this week.
“Maxx Crosby has a point to prove. He’s a little pissed off,” McCoy said on the Rich Eisen Show.
“Actually, he’s a lot of pissed off. I was just with Maxx in Vegas. He has a point to prove and Maxx is extremely upset and he’s going to have these guys on the mission.”
To that, Eisen followed up like the polished host that he is, and asked McCoy who Crosby is upset at.
“He loves the Raiders, for one,” McCoy answered.
“But he was traded. Okay. Then he was given back. So it’s almost like they saying, ‘We don’t really need you, but we need you.’ And then the other team is saying, ‘You just kind of lost a step. We don’t really trust it.’ Maxx is out to prove a point. I’m Maxx Crosby for a reason and he’s going to bring the guys with him.”
Based on McCoy’s comments, the Raiders aren’t entirely off the hook from Crosby’s perspective. But if that’s accurate, it’s an odd position to take considering it was Crosby who requested a trade from the Raiders at the end of the season.
From the Raiders’ standpoint, if Crosby plays well at the start of the season, they can circle back and probably get a trade offer similar what the Ravens backed away from in March. Or if the Raiders have the mindset Adam Schefter believes they have, Crosby could end up being a Raider for life.
“Some people wonder if he’d still be on the market. I don’t see that,” Schefter said of Crosby last month. “I see him staying in Vegas, helping this team and being a Raider for life, and we’ll see how that plays out.”
x: @raidersbeat
Reporters quote him, I don’t dwell I move forward. X players that are friends with him come back saying that he’s pissed and he’s on a mission. What’s certain is he is a contradiction. Was it injuries that had him going half speed on far too many players or something else? Something else that certain is he freelanced and went off script far too many times. That’s why in my book he is very tradable. It’s not a coincidence that the defense collectively played much better without him the last two games last year. And even the year before that.