The Baltimore Ravens do not believe that they are receiving the appropriate amount of criticism for their failed Maxx Crosby trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead, President Sashi Brown believes fans and media have nothing much more to discuss due to an underwhelming 2026 NFL offseason.
Brown knows that a player of Crosby's caliber will draw attention, but he otherwise believes the situation is being discussed as much as it is because of a “slow news cycle,” ESPN's Jamison Hensley reported.
“We understand that it is a headline story because of its profile and significance,” Brown said. “When you have high-profile transactions like this and opportunities like this, it's unfortunate, but sometimes these things do happen. No fault of Maxx, ours or the Raiders. It's just kind of how it played out.”
Hensley added that Brown pointed out other players who did not get signed due to an injury. Brown said the Crosby situation is “not the first time” anything like that has happened, and “it will not be the last.”
The Ravens reversed the trade due to an issue with Crosby's knee, the same injury they believe caused the Raiders to shut him down at the end of the 2025 season. Crosby vehemently denied that anything was wrong with his knee when Las Vegas placed him on IR, going as far as posting videos of himself playing basketball to prove he was good enough to take the field.
Ravens' Jesse Minter voices respect for Maxx Crosby
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter reiterated some of Brown's comments at the annual NFL league meeting.
“So much respect for Maxx,” Minter said, via Hensley. “We were obviously excited about it and then disappointed about it. Not gonna speak too many details about it, but tons of respect for him as a player and the Raiders as an organization.”
Ravens coach Jesse Minter said he’s disappointed that the Maxx Crosby trade didn’t get completed but said he’s disappointed has a ton of respect for Crosby pic.twitter.com/nQH2mIYouw
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) March 31, 2026
Since the axed trade, the Raiders report that Crosby is “back like he never left,” and they expect him to be “ready to rock” by training camp.
Crosby remains under contract with the Raiders through the 2029 season. He inked a historic three-year, $106.5 million extension with the team in the 2025 offseason, which then gave him the highest average annual salary of any non-quarterback in league history.
