Maxx Crosby sat out the first game of his NFL career on Sunday, but he didn’t miss the game on his television.
Crosby said he watched the Raiders host the Browns this week from his home, while rehabbing his injured ankle, and talked on his podcast about the resilience his teammates showed in the game.
Crosby said Sunday’s win was a team effort but offered especially high praise for one of his running mates on the defensive line.
Adam Butler didn’t stuff the stat sheet on Sunday, although 6 tackles is no small achievement for an interior defensive lineman, but Crosby called Butler the “unsung hero” of the Raider defense.
“That’s a kid I believe in **** near more than anybody,” Crosby said of on The Rush. “One of the best teammates I’ve been around. Just his work ethic. A dude that’s in, I think, year 8 now, flying around the way he does. [He] doesn’t get all the stats, but he’s always setting up things for other guys.”
“You seen it again [against the Browns] where Christian [Wilkins] and J-Rob got the half sack. He was the one that took the center and guard, and it was a runaway to the quarterback,” Crosby continued. “Then at the end he had the run stop, the tackle on the screen, ran Deshaun [Watson] out of bounds, back-to-back to back, all in crucial moments, end of the game. [He’s] a master of big moments. I guy like that is an unsung hero.”
One of the crucial moments Crosby mentioned was the final defensive play of the game, and Charles Snowden deserves credit for chasing down Watson for the sack.
But look (below) at what Butler and Wilkins did to the interior of the Browns offensive line on the play to force Watson out the pocket. The cell phone video isn’t great, but angle is perfect…
Not only has Butler become one of the cornerstones of the Raider defense, but he has also developed into the one of the leaders in the locker room.
That was evident last week as the team went through a difficult stretch after being embarrassed by Carolina at home.
According to several reports, Butler was one of the players that brought the locker room together after losing to the Panthers in week 3 and reenergized the team after it was announced that Crosby and Davante Adams wouldn’t be available for the Browns.
“You’ve got to give big praise to Adams Butler,” Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter said on Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “He gave the pre-game talk to the team, and I was told he sounded more like a preacher than a teammate. He inspired this team, which is what I’ve been telling people about Adam Butler for a very long time. A very underrated player.”
x: @raidersbeat