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Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
If the Kansas City Chiefs hope to get back to the Super Bowl, the path may go through Maxx Crosby.
The Las Vegas Raiders pulled off the most anticipated move of this NFL offseason, shipping Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in a blockbuster deal. While the trade gets Crosby out of the AFC West, it sends him to a team that is expected to challenge the Chiefs for conference supremacy in the years to come.
Ravens Pay High Price to Jump Back Into Contention
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Crosby trade on Friday, noting that the Ravens sent a massive haul to the Raiders to land the star edge rusher.
“ESPN sources: the Raiders agreed to trade five-time Pro-Bowl DE Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for 2026 and 2027 first-round picks,” Schefter shared in a post on X. “The trade cannot be processed until next week, but it is in place. And Crosby is expected to be a Raven with two 1s back to Vegas.”
The trade is an all-in move for the Ravens, who missed the playoffs in 2025 due largely to struggles on defense. The Ravens now have a major piece in place as they look to bounce back quickly, a similar goal for the Chiefs after they also missed the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
The Chiefs had been seen as a dark-horse candidate to land Crosby, with Fernando Alfaro-Donis of SI.com suggesting they could inquire with the Raiders on a potential trade. But as SI.com insider Albert Breer pointed out, a huge chunk of NFL teams were in the running to land Crosby.
“Obviously, calls have come in (for Crosby),” Breer said on the “Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday. “I think a quarter of the league, if not more, is interested in trading for him at various prices, and now the question is, which way this goes.”
Maxx Crosby’s History Against the Chiefs
While the Chiefs may need to face down Crosby and the reloaded Ravens in the playoffs, quarterback Patrick Mahomes may be happy to get him out of the division. Mahomes said last year that Crosby was the toughest edge rusher he had ever faced.
“I think he’s sacked me the most out of anyone I’ve ever played against, so to me, he’s the best pass rusher I’ve played against,” Mahomes said, via Pro Football Talk. “So, no offense to any other pass rusher — just putting it out there. But he is the best one that I’ve gone up against because he goes out there and he gives you the effort, he has the moves, and he has the skill. And I think it’s hard to have all three of those and have them year in and year out.”
Despite being a thorn in Mahomes’ side, Crosby didn’t do much to slow the Chiefs during his time with the Raiders. The edge rusher had a 3-10 record against the Chiefs in his career, recording 6.0 sacks with 27 total tackles in those games.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
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