The NFL was collectively stunned Tuesday night when the Ravens called off their blockbuster trade to acquire star pass rusher Maxx Crosby from the Raiders — a move with widespread ripple effects around the league in the midst of the free agency tampering period.
Taking the temperature across the league, NFL insider Jay Glazer said Baltimore’s reversal — speculated to be for a medical reason, with The Athletic reporting Crosby failed a physical months removed from meniscus surgery — has left other clubs in unfavorable positions.
The website noted that some teams who would have been interested in Crosby no longer have the cap room to consider acquiring him.
One anonymous GM didn’t mince words to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, stating, “This is very much bulls–t on Baltimore’s part.”
A five-time Pro Bowler, Crosby was initially dealt to the Ravens on Friday for two first-round picks (2026, 2027), essentially ending what had been an offseason engulfed in speculation about the longtime Raider’s future in Las Vegas.
He underwent knee surgery in January after being shut down for the Raiders’ final two games of the year — a decision that prompted him to walk out of the building amid buzz about potential tanking for the No. 1 overall pick.
Crosby “continues to be on track in his recovery,” according to his agent, who released a statement Tuesday evening in the wake of the trade fallout.
“Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr Neal El Attrache. Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program & will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past 7 seasons,” CJ LaBoy posted on X.
That message was re-shared by Crosby’s wife, who added on Instagram, “Say it louder.”
Although Baltimore has not yet released a statement as of Wednesday morning, Pelissero tried to make sense of the shocking series of events.
“The reaction from other people in the NFL that I am getting is predominantly about how the Ravens pulled the rug out, regardless of what their reasoning was. This just does not happen,” he said Tuesday night.
“… Everyone knew, based on Ian’s [Rapoport] reporting, that he had a meniscus surgery that’s not just a trim, but a meniscus repair that has a longer term type of a timeline. But that did not stop several teams from offering a first-round pick and more, as part of a trade offering. It did not stop the Ravens from offering two first-round picks, this is not a situation where you put in a bid in an online auction then if you don’t like the item you return it via Amazon, this is a trade involving a superstar player in the NFL. Clearly, they came to the conclusion that there was something they were not comfortable with, and again, it does bear mentioning, 32 teams, 32 doctors, 32 degrees of risk tolerance. What one team might be willing to accept, whether it’s in the draft process, a free agent signing, a trade, is something another team might say, we’re simply not going to go there.”
The Cowboys, the runner-ups to the Crosby sweepstakes, “would remain interested,” Pelissero emphasized Tuesday.
As for the Raiders, the club “will honor all the agreements they made with free agents—both their own and the incoming guys—over the last 48 hours,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported Wednesday.
“All options remain in play with Maxx Crosby. Vegas is certainly very open to keeping him.”
Crosby tallied 10 sacks and an interception in 15 games last season.