The Baltimore Ravens backed out of a trade to acquire superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby on Tuesday night, shaking the NFL world.
After spending more than $281 million through the first two days of free agency, the Las Vegas Raiders, according to all reports — as well as a pointed statement they issued declaring the trade was off — are not happy.
Baltimore won the bidding war for Crosby last week by offering up a pair of first-round picks, a haul that isn’t on the table from other teams, according to multiple reports.
ESPN reported the Dallas Cowboys, rumored to be one of the teams in on Crosby until the deal with Baltimore was agreed upon, are no longer interested. The Cowboys added Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers instead, with Jeremy Fowler saying a league source told him that it will be “‘hard to retrace’ their recent acquisitions.’”
Added The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, “Some teams I spoke to tonight expect the Raiders to be the ones calling them.”
While the Detroit Lions weren’t rumored to be in on the latest round of Crosby discussions, it’s fair to wonder if a new set of circumstances could change things.
Do the Raiders still want to trade Maxx Crosby?
Sports Illustrated reported on Wednesday morning that the Raiders intend to follow through with all of their previously agreed upon signings, which isn’t a problem, cap-wise, even with Crosby, an Eastern Michigan product, back in the fold. Financially, moving his contract is not something they need to do.
Multiple national reporters have even suggested Las Vegas no longer feels compelled to move him, which feels like a bit of posturing — but hey, after building up a roster to help support incoming rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, maybe they’re telling the truth. Besides, the Raiders were adamant over the years that they never really wanted to move Crosby in the first place.
Throughout his time with the Raiders, Crosby has been vocal about wanting to stay with Vegas. Years of speculation finally came to a head after it was reported by Fox’s Jay Glazer that Crosby himself wanted out. Could the recent events lend themselves to Crosby being satisfied with a return? That remains to be seen.
But if the Raiders can’t get the Godfather-level offer they originally received, it would make sense that they ultimately decide to keep him.
Is Maxx Crosby healthy?
The Ravens’ withdrawal hinged on Crosby’s physical, which he reportedly “failed” — something that was not completely unexpected for a player who recently had meniscus surgery. In a more practical sense, the assumption is that the Ravens saw something that scared them away from completing the massive investment they were about to make. Their reported addition of free-agent edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, however, has led many to speculate that Crosby’s knee is actually fine, and Baltimore backed out because they simply saw greater value in acquiring Hendrickson after several starters signed elsewhere.
Crosby’s camp, as well as much of the reporting, has maintained Crosby is ahead of schedule in his recovery from the surgery. Crosby’s agent, C.J. Laboy, said Crosby is trending well with his recovery, if not ahead of schedule.
“Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr Neal El Attrache,” Laboy said on X, formerly Twitter. 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.”
Is Maxx Crosby a fit with the Lions?
A player of Crosby’s caliber is a fit with just about any team, but especially with the Lions, which have not been able to put things together defensively in the Dan Campbell era. One of the biggest shortcomings from a player acquisition standpoint has been an inability to find a stable presence on the edge opposite of Aidan Hutchinson, who’s currently the only edge rusher who’s a lock to be on the 52-man roster.
Sixth-round draft choice Ahmed Hassanein was injured for most of his rookie season, while Josh Paschal was cut Wednesday.
Detroit has fruitlessly attempted to solve the DE2 position for years. Acquiring Crosby would be a swift and emphatic end to that pursuit.
Financially, however, it would require a lot of work. The Lions reportedly restructured quarterback Jared Goff’s contract on Wednesday morning, but taking into account the players they’ve gained and lost in free agency thus far, an ambitious estimation of the Lions’ cap accounting — salary figures have not yet been reported for center Cade Mays or offensive tackle Larry Borom — probably leaves them with no greater than $13-15 million in cap space, once you stash away some money to sign upcoming draftees.
Is a trade of Maxx Crosby to the Lions realistic?
Crosby is entering a three-year deal through the 2029 worth $106.5 million and just $62.5 million guaranteed. Because they’ve already rid themselves of most potential cap casualties, the Lions would need to continue restructuring players — wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, offensive tackle Penei Sewell and defensive tackle Alim McNeill are all candidates — to make Crosby fit financially.
The Lions could eventually restructure Crosby himself, lowering his cap hit from $30.7 million to about $7.7 million, at best, according to Spotrac, a popular salary cap website. But that cannot occur until after the Lions acquire him, so they can’t use that tool to become cap-compliant and usher in the trade.
However, Crosby’s contract situation is ultimately not as unattractive as one might think for a player of his caliber and position.
Crosby doesn’t have void years at the end of his deal, meaning a restructure wouldn’t linger too far into the future. He also doesn’t have any guaranteed money on his deal after the 2026 season; depending on how confident the medical staff feels about his knee, passing on the chance to restructure his deal would give the acquiring team a chance to get out from under the contract after next season with no penalty. A restructure would guarantee that money, freeing up cap space in the short term but potentially hamstringing the future, if Crosby’s performance isn’t up to snuff.
If the softened market means the Lions could win a bidding war with just one first-round pick, it might be worth pulling the trigger. But this team still has a lot of holes that we know they’d prefer to fill via the draft, and giving up even one first-rounder is still a risk that Detroit hasn’t proven to have an appetite for.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Could Detroit Lions emerge as trade destination for Maxx Crosby?
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
