Eric DeCosta wants to make one thing abundantly clear — he really wanted to make things work with Maxx Crosby on the Ravens.
And he’s incredibly disheartened by how things turned out.
On Wednesday, DeCosta addressed the failed trade with the Raiders that the Ravens ultimately backed away from on Tuesday night over reported medical concerns with Crosby.
“Nobody’s more upset about this than me,” DeCosta said. “Gutted by it, actually. Big regret for me. But we will move on as a football team.”
The team did add a star edge rusher through free agency in Trey Hendrickson on a four-year, $112 million deal, but DeCosta revealed the team had actually wanted to pair him with Crosby after center Tyler Linderbaum went to the Raiders.
But when issues arose during Crosby’s physical, Baltimore reneged on the deal and thus sent the five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher back to Las Vegas.
It’s not clear what the specific concerns were, but Crosby underwent meniscus surgery in January after the Raiders told him they would not be playing him in the final two games of the season.
“I understand how people would feel that way [about conspiracies],” DeCosta said about backing out the Crosby trade. “But I have a responsibility to the Ravens.”
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DeCosta also tried to allay any concerns about other teams wanting to make potential moves with the Ravens, adding that the failed Raiders deal — which would have sent two first-round picks to Vegas — “hasn’t stopped my phone from ringing.”
However, earlier in the day, an anonymous general manager spoke to NFL Network and called out how the Ravens handled things.
“This is very much bulls–t on Baltimore’s part,” the exec told the station.
While the Ravens won’t end up with Crosby this offseason, they do land a pretty big prize in Hendrickson, who has four Pro Bowls on his resume to go with First-Team All-Pro honors in 2024, when he led the NFL with 17.5 sacks.
The 31-year-old has accrued 88 sacks over 117 games between the Saints and Bengals, and becomes a centerpiece of the Ravens’ notoriously stout defense.
What’s next for Crosby’s future, though, still remains unclear.