The Las Vegas Raiders have said that Baltimore have “backed out” of the trade that was supposed to send pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens. The Raiders were expected to receive two first-round draft picks in the deal.
The deal was agreed last Friday but couldn’t be finalised until the start of the league year on Wednesday. The Raiders announced on Tuesday evening that Baltimore have backed out of the deal. “We will have no further comment at this time,” the Raiders said in their statement.
Crosby’s Injury Concerns Halt the Deal
Crosby underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and needed to pass a physical for the deal to be finalised. He missed the final two games of the season because of the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time. A person with knowledge of Baltimore’s decision told the Associated Press that Crosby failed his physical.
Crosby said on a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that he was “ahead of schedule” in his rehab. One of his agents, CJ LaBoy, posted on social media on Tuesday night that Crosby is recovering well under the care of orthopedist Dr Neal ElAttrache.
“Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon,” LaBoy posted. “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.”
Ravens’ Super Bowl Ambitions Dented
The addition of Crosby was supposed to be the piece to help the Ravens make a serious challenge for the Super Bowl while quarterback Lamar Jackson is still in his prime. Baltimore, who have a first-year coach in Jesse Minter, are in a win-now mode with three-time All-Pro Jackson. Crosby would have been a significant boost for a defense that finished tied for 28th in the league in sacks with only 30 last season.
Raiders’ Plans After Trade Collapse
The Raiders own the No 1 pick in the draft and are widely expected to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Las Vegas have been extremely aggressive at the start of free agency, agreeing to deals with several new players and reportedly agreeing to trade quarterback Geno Smith to the New York Jets.
The biggest move the Raiders made was agreeing to a deal with three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum. He gets a three-year, $81m contract with $60m guaranteed to leave Baltimore and join Las Vegas.
Because they entered free agency with nearly $112m in salary cap space, Raiders general manager John Spytek has room to continue to be aggressive with or without Crosby’s cap hit. He signed a three-year extension a year ago worth $106.5m, with $91.5m guaranteed, that briefly made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.
The Raiders were expected to use the Ravens’ draft picks as part of a rebuild.
The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss last season, and has reached double-digit sacks four times in his seven seasons.
Where the Raiders go from here remains to be see