After reportedly failing a physical with the Ravens on Tuesday, Maxx Crosby is headed back to Las Vegas where he will begin the new league year as a member of the Raiders.
There is a lot we still don’t know about the situation, but from the outside it looks like the Ravens may have experienced a change of heart and looked for an excuse to back out of the Crosby agreement.
If that is what happened, it won’t be a difficult conspiracy theory to verify.
Essentially, if Trey Hendrickson ends up signing with the Ravens this week, everyone is going to know what happened.
It’s already surprising that Hendrickson hasn’t announced a deal in free agency, and it’s an interesting coincidence that Crosby “failed” a physical in Baltimore on Tuesday that he was technically never a candidate to pass.
Crosby is two months removed from a meniscus repair that ended his 2025 season, and every indication is that he is ahead of schedule in his recovery. But he was never going to actually “pass” a physical in the second week of March.
That’s why the consensus around the league seems to be that the Ravens pulled a dirty stunt and backed out of their deal with the Raiders.
As for the aforementioned conspiracy theory on Hendrickson, it won’t take an inside source to effectively confirm what the Ravens were doing if they sign Hendrickson.
If Hendrickson signs in Baltimore, and league insider Jordan Schultz believes that is going to be a “situation to watch,” good luck convincing anyone the Ravens didn’t change their minds on Crosby and leave the Raiders at the altar.
x: @raidersbeat
The Ravens have always been a “no class” outfit. Leaving Indy in the middle of the night like the TD true cowards they really are. I can’t wait them go 4-13 this season and never have any success ever again.
ahh, that was the Colts sneaking out of Baltimore to move to Indianapolis. The Ravens were the Browns in Cleveland, that left and the city claimed rights to the Browns trademark, and the Ravens were created by fan contestants in Baltimore. I’ve always hated them, unless they’re playing KC, LA or Denver.
Spytek should stick to two number ones for Crosby, and if we don’t get it we keep Maxx!
Keep him for what? He won’t fit into a 3-4 defense. He barely knows how to play the run now, and in a 3-4, he would need to have double the gap responsibility. He sucks!
Barely knows how to play the run? Is there some new analytics I’m missing or something? Seriously, I’m asking. Because while his play has slipped a little bit over the last two seasons from his peak, I’ve always been under the impression he’s been one of the best edge-setters and two-way defenders in football.
And he wouldn’t be two-gapping in a 3-4, as I’m pretty sure he’d line up on the edge like he always has in the base, and in sub packages, I suspect the Raiders will have plenty of snaps with 4 DL players. The only major differences would be asking to drop into coverage a few times a game on zone blitzes and the stance, IMO. Even if he did line up at DE in the base, he’d probably still be playing downhill, like a JJ Watt type who I don’t recall two-gapping very often. Not every 3-4 scheme has all three linemen lining head up and two-gapping every play.
I wish the deal had gone through as I thought the package was more valuable for a rebuilding team than the player, and know the perception of damaged goods means they’re likely to get inferior offers. But Maxx Crosby sitting up for the Raiders in 2026 is NOT a disaster scenario.
Yeah, the analytics are “watch the **** game”. He avoids contact on running plays and finds a way to be “blocked” so he isn’t involved in the tackle
The Raiders need to go sign Trey Hendrickson asap
Once again the conspiracy realists were right