The Baltimore Ravens’ pursuit of Las Vegas Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby remains a source of controversy weeks removed from the situation.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando spoke to multiple team executives who suspect that the Ravens “acted in bad faith” when they backed out of their trade agreement with the Raiders that would’ve acquired Crosby in exchange for two first-round picks after medical concerns arose during his physical examination.
“I don’t think we’ll ever find out the answer,” an exec from another team said. “I would not put it past them to agree to this trade and then slow-play the physical.”
The Ravens and Raiders reached an agreement on trade details on the Friday before free agency opened, but Crosby didn’t undergo his physical until the following Tuesday. The five-time Pro Bowler had undergone knee surgery in January, and Baltimore saw enough to back out of the deal.
“If you really wanted the guy, you would get him in there for his physical as soon as possible,” another exec said. “You would pull your doctors off whatever they were doing. That’s easy. It was advantageous for the Ravens to slow-play the physical and keep open their options. That is why I believe the narrative.”
After losing out on Crosby, the Ravens pivoted by signing former Cincinnati Bengals star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. Baltimore didn’t have to give up any draft capital to land him, making him a more viable acquisition than Crosby.
“My point is, the Ravens didn’t get cold feet,” another exec said. “They wanted one high-quality edge rusher, and they felt Maxx Crosby, like most people did, was the best one available, and he was worth two first-round picks, presuming they could not get Hendrickson.”
The Raiders have been rumored to still be open to trading Crosby for the right price, and one exec told Sando that they feel Las Vegas should come down from the asking price of two first-round picks that it was set to receive from Baltimore.
“They should because the windows don’t match up for them being good and Crosby making what he is making,” the exec said, suggesting that a trade for first- and third-round picks would be satisfactory. “But I don’t think they want to be perceived as being taken advantage of again, and so I don’t think they will do that.”