Max Crosby wants answers.
But Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher — yes, Crosby is still shocking until further notice las vegas raiders Chargers – will be the first but far from the last to hear their voices.
advertise
Because Tuesday night’s burning of the NFL’s biggest free-agent news yet affected more than just one player.
The Raiders agreed in principle on Friday night to trade Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for two first-round picks, setting up a cascade of dominoes that began to fall on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday across the NFL.
The Raiders then issued an ominous tweet at 8:02 pm ET on Tuesday night: “The Baltimore Ravens have withdrawn from our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Suddenly, the dozens of pieces of the puzzle that had been in place during the league’s legal tampering window seemed a little askew. Assumptions about the NFL’s power structure in 2026, teams’ commitment to fulfilling agreements and the definition of league health are all shaky.
advertise
Crosby had no immediate comment. But anyone who watched him say goodbye to the Raiders at 12:58 and celebrate his arrival with the Ravens will understand the severity of the deflation he may be experiencing.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]
Crosby failed his physical with the Ravens, according to multiple reports. The degree to which “pass” is objective or subjective is controversial because team physicians vary in their risk appetite and willingness to consider expected recovery. But medical hesitancy apparently sabotaged the deal, raising suspicion around the league.
Teams want to know: Who knows what before a physical?
As the league begins a new year, Maxx Crosby is still a Raider. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
(Tim Warner via Getty Images)
Crosby’s recent knee injury is no secret. He underwent meniscus repair surgery on Jan. 7, with an expected recovery time of three to four months, as opposed to the four to six weeks it would have taken if doctors had simply trimmed the meniscus, NFL Network reported. The timeline suggests Crosby is unlikely to fully recover before the NFL year ends on March 11. So what do the Ravens think his knee or other areas will look like compared to what they’ve seen?
advertise
Sources within NFL front office have differing views on the possibility that the Raiders intentionally misled or omitted information from the medical report. A senior NFC executive told Yahoo Sports they expected such a high-priced deal to include an exchange of information from doctors such as pre-surgery MRIs, post-surgery notes, rehab records and more — all of which were given to the Ravens before a deal was agreed upon in principle. Even if Crosby’s recovery isn’t complete yet, the situation should be clear.
An AFC front office source considers the apparent disconnect between the two teams “suspicious,” while an NFC front office source believes the Ravens are more favorable.
“The recent surgery was difficult unless you could see the player up close,” an NFC source told Yahoo Sports, speculating that the Ravens’ “extensive testing showed things LV didn’t want to reveal.”
As the minutes wore on Tuesday night, it appeared there were more questions than answers.
advertise
Did the Raiders know something and mislead the Ravens? If so, did Crosby also know this information, or was he kept in the dark?
Is Crosby’s physical condition really similar to what’s generally expected of a player two months post meniscus repair? If so, will the Ravens regret paying two first-round picks and decide to use a medical emergency to turn things around?
The other 30 NFL teams watched the game and wondered: Which of these teams, if any, should we trust?
Suitors previously interested in Crosby are wondering: How worrisome is his knee, should we be interested again?
Crosby’s agent, CJ LaBoy, said on Twitter that his client “continues to be on track for recovery, if anything is ahead of schedule per his surgeon, Dr. Neal El Attrache.”
So fans are wondering: Will the Dallas Cowboys, who reportedly offered Crosby a first- and second-round pick last week, return? The Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers on Monday for edge rusher Rashan Gary in response to the Ravens trading Crosby for two first-round picks. There’s no sign the Cowboys will back out, but the possibility of starting in Dallas and heading further afield is starting to emerge.
advertise
The Carolina Panthers agreed to a huge salary hit with edge rusher Jaylan Phillips on Monday, so what if they decide to try first to get Crosby for less than expected? Like Crosby, Phillips is a former first-round pick with an injury history. He’s not quite at Crosby’s level yet, but if the Panthers are willing to gamble on Phillips’ health, will they be willing to gamble on Crosby’s?
The Washington Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals signed O’Duffy Ovie and Boye Maffei to pass rushers in the event Crosby joins the Ravens.
The Ravens need a pass rusher right now.
League officials have to wonder whether their trading and signing practices in the days before they were finalized on Wednesday could spark a bigger firestorm.
advertise
Next, the Raiders face a series of problems. Las Vegas this week handed out multi-year contracts worth more than $300 million to center Tyler Lindbaum, linebacker Nakobe Dean, linebacker Quai Walker, defensive end Malcolm Coons, defensive end Kvitti Paye, cornerback Eric Stokes, receiver Jalen Naylor and kicker Matt Gay.
Can they afford this huge acquisition with Crosby’s four-year, $106.5 million deal still on the books? According to OverTheCap.com, Crosby’s average annual salary is $35.5 million, ranking sixth among Chargers.
After their seven-year marriage fell apart after the Raiders shut down Crosby in the final two weeks of the season and both parties headed toward a split, would Crosby still be willing to play for the team?
Crosby is ready, and presumably ready, to play for a contender rather than an endless rebuild. He was ready to leave a team that had just one winning season in his seven years, a franchise that had gone through five head coaches and suffered waves of dysfunction.
advertise
But who would take Crosby now?
How long before another team is willing to take a risk that the Ravens are adamantly unwilling to do, and at what adjusted cost can the Raiders convince suitors to take Crosby and his massive salary off their books?
Crosby’s talent, work ethic and leadership continue to excite coaches and talent evaluators across offices around the league. He totaled 69.5 sacks, 133 tackles for loss, 11 forced fumbles and three tackles for loss in five years at the Pro Bowl.
No player is more effective at stopping the run than Crosby, whose 39% win rate leads the pack according to ESPN’s run-stop win rate metric, and his 125 wins are more than 50% better than second-place Jared Firth. Considering Crosby still ranks in the top 15 in pass rush win rate, and all this in a year where the Raiders’ bottom-four offense rarely bothered him?
advertise
“Max is [the] “He’s the most disruptive player since Aaron Donald, and I have to game plan every down,” one NFC assistant told Yahoo Sports. Game breakers. “
One AFC West offensive player said they need to ask their scout team peers more in practices before the Raiders game than in other weeks because of the challenges Crosby poses.
“He’s very crafty, he’s very agile, very quick and stuff like that, so that’s very different than some guys,” the player told Yahoo Sports. “He’s got power, but he’s more cunning. So, like, if you put your hand in the middle of his chest, he might just slap your hand and you don’t have a chance to recover. Instead, you can put one hand wider because if he tries to slap it, you can recover faster or he’ll miss because your hand is too wide.
advertise
“The way Crosby played was very special.”
This poses a challenge to the opponent’s game plan and real-time challenges. This increases his value to the 2026 team.
But Crosby’s value isn’t what it was a few days ago.
His 2026 destination won’t remain the same either, according to a statement from the Raiders.
“This raises more questions than answers at this point,” an NFC source said late Tuesday.
There are indeed more questions.
Crosby will be the first to find out. But he was far from the last.
