Did the Ravens bail out on the trade for Maxx Crosby because they got cold feet or were they really uncomfortable with the condition of his knee?
That’s the question everyone is asking on Wednesday morning, but according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Ravens did everything they could to get a deal done.
“The Ravens wanted this to work. They wanted Maxx Crosby to be on their team. They wanted to send two first-round picks to the Raiders for the rights to one of the best pass rushers in the NFL,” Rapoport said on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.
“When it seemed like it was falling apart, they still tried to make it work. They just were not comfortable with the medical. They were not comfortable that the player they believed they were acquiring was going to be at a point where he could play to the level that they all thought. It all sucks. There’s a lot of blame or responsibility to go around, but I think it is safe to say most people involved wanted this to happen, they just could not make this work.”
There are plenty of alternate explanations to why the Ravens backed out on the Crosby deal, but a statement from Crosby’s doctor that was shared by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday pointed to the serious nature of his knee injury.
This was the message from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Crosby’s surgery 63 days ago…
“Maxx Crosby is doing very well in the early part of his rehab and recovery from surgery to treat a significant meniscus tear and the related stress injury to the bone and cartilage in his knee. He is certainly on track in his planned program….he feels very well and is already much improved compared to before surgery.
“We truly respect the work of the Ravens staff with Maxx regarding the contract physical exam. We also understand the challenge the staff faces when tasked to provide a future risk assessment based on an evaluation early in the recovery process. This is especially challenging when dealing with an elite player like Maxx considering the level of commitment necessary for a team to obtain him. The timing of this assessment is unfortunate because the apparent risk will lessen as his recovery progresses and his return to performance over the next few months becomes clear.
At this point, Max is doing an excellent job attacking his rehab and his knee is responding very well. We look forward to Maxx returning to his elite level of performance this season as planned and for several more to come.”
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini said the Ravens had concerns about Crosby’s long-term prognosis and it will be interesting to hear the opinions of medical professionals based on what Crosby’s doctor released on Wednesday.
Crosby is just over two months removed from his January 7 surgery and Rapoport said this morning that the anticipated timeline for his recovery was always 4-6 months. Every indication is that Crosby is ahead of schedule in his recovery, but if we’ve learned anything in the last 24 hours it’s that the Raiders made the right move by shutting him down before the end of the season.
If it was known that he was going to need up to six months to recovery from surgery, the Raiders were justified in keeping him off the field for the final two games of the regular season. If anything, they might not have shut him down soon enough.
If Crosby’s surgery had happened a month or two earlier, he would be farther along in his recovery and maybe the Ravens or someone else would be more comfortable trading for him in the second week of March.
x: @raidersbeat
Ravens are lying
I still think he would make a good linebacker. Like ted Hendricks he has long arms to swat at passes but he’s faster and can blitz and catch runningbacks.
My question is if everyone knew the severity of the knee injury, why wouldn’t the Ravens request all medical reports from the Raiders, and the Raiders provide them, before both sides agreed to a deal? And if that information was provided, and everyone knew he would fail a physical, why wouldn’t the Raiders require Baltimore to waive the physical to complete the deal or at least provide compensation if the physical ended up shuttling the deal?
None of it makes sense to me, except the author is certainly right that the Raiders were smart to shut him down last year for reasons beyond draft position, and Crosby’s complaining seems more motivated by the truth of his health effecting his future options than the “pure noble and honorable competitor” line pushed by his camp.