The Baltimore Ravens Maxx Crosby era was over before it ever started. Yesterday, it was reported that the Ravens had health concerns about Crosby and pulled the plug on a trade that would have sent two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders. The All-Pro edge rusher was shut down for the last two games of the season in 2025 due to a meniscus injury, and he had surgery to repair his knee in January. The specifics of what transpired are being kept a secret by Baltimore, the league, and the media.
Crosby’s injury would have been disclosed to the Ravens before the trade, and the team was well aware of his recent surgery. Since no one will disclose the nature of Baltimore’s concerns, it’s unclear whether an issue arose with Crosby’s knee or if some other injury was discovered during his physical. From the outside looking in, it appears that Crosby suffered a severe case of “We just signed someone else who won’t cost us any picks” syndrome.
Ravens Maxx Crosby Physical Timing Is Suspicious
Less than a day after the deal flatlined, it was announced that the Ravens had signed Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. According to ESPN, the team quickly pivoted to address its pass rush, but there was no actual pivot involved. A deal the size of Hendrickson’s doesn’t get put together and agreed to in 24 hours. It takes days, or more accurately, weeks to happen. This highlights the truth of the situation.
After trading for Crosby, the Ravens began talks with Hendrickson. It’s not clear who approached whom, but discussions of a contract were had, each side’s legal teams prepared and reviewed paperwork, and once the framework of a deal was agreed to, Crosby needed to be axed, so Baltimore could recoup its draft capital. The simple solution was saying that the team had some sort of vague medical concerns about Crosby and needed to back out of the deal.
Even though the NFL’s media mouthpieces are refusing to discuss the suspicious timing of the events as they played out, it’s clear as day to anyone not employed by the biggest sports entity in America. It’s possible the NFL is complicit, and therefore will not look into the matter. If they did have that plan, Baltimore would be scrubbing its servers and deleting its text messages to erase any remnant of conversations with Hendrickson and/or his representation before the failed physical.
A full-scale investigation should be launched, and the Ravens should be stripped of the two picks they initially included in the deal. They should not get their pass rusher and get to keep their picks. They scammed the system. Maybe the Raiders won’t do anything about it, because they may want to scam someone of their own down the road, but this is a bigger scandal than Spygate, and if the NFL doesn’t do anything about it, then they are accomplices in the crime. Shame on the Ravens and shame on the media for not connecting the dots for the fans of football.
