From Super Bowl favorites to offseason trade drama, it has been a wild 12 months for the Baltimore Ravens organization.

The Ravens went from being one missed field goal away from yet another postseason birth to firing the winningest head coach in their franchise’s history. As traumatic, dramatic, and heart-wrenching as the end of the regular season and firing head coach Jim Harbaugh was, the Ravens front office will do what they can to stay competitive.

The Ravens have never been a franchise like the Dallas Cowboys. Baltimore has never prioritized clicks, marketing, brand image, and dollars over team success on the football field. The Ravens host true football culture. This is why seeing the Ravens front office trade for Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby shocking, but not surprising.

When the Ravens front office decided to back out of the trade before it became official almost 48 hours after initially agreeing to the trade, the internet exploded. Reports began to surface speculating why the Ravens actually backed out of the deal.

The Ravens had access to all the medical information they needed about Crosby, which left many around the NFL world bewildered that they would do something like this. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a hub for controversy, so he gave his opinion on the Ravens deciding to cancel the Crosby trade.

Jerry Jones defends Ravens front office

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta pulled the trigger on trading for Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby in exchange for two first-round NFL Draft picks. Baltimore cited medical concerns over Crosby’s recovery from a knee injury. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, Crosby’s knee surgeon, made it clear to ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Crosby in on track to play this season.

Crosby is coming off of a preseason that saw him sign a massive contract extension and a regular season that saw him rack up ten sacks despite dealing with the knee injury. Jones understands Eric DeCosta and the Ravens front office for their actions. Jones was present for the NFL Owners Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona where he spoke with the media.

“There’s no hidden item there — you’ve got to pass a physical. We’ve never completed an agreement until the player passes the physical. We would have had the same conditions with the physical. As you know, we were in on making an offer for him”Jerry Jones