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Why did the Ravens back out of Maxx Crosby trade? What we know so far
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- Why did the Ravens back out of Maxx Crosby trade? What we know so far
Maxx Crosby was the newest member of the Baltimore Ravens . Until he wasn't.
Four days after reports that the Las Vegas Raiders had agreed to terms to trade the pass rusher to the Ravens , the team announced on social media that Baltimore had backed out of the trade.
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The full reasoning for the trade cancellation is only partially clear as of the night of March 10. NFL Media's Mike Garafolo reported shortly after the Raiders ' bombshell revelation on social media that the Ravens nixed the transaction for a medical reason.
"Trades are contingent upon a physical," NFL Media's Ian Rapoport wrote on X.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Crosby failed his physical when he met with the Ravens on March 10.
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Crosby missed the final two weeks of the 2025 NFL season when the Raiders placed him on injured reserve with a knee injury. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in late December that the Las Vegas pass rusher suffered his injury during an Oct. 19 game against the Kansas City Chiefs . Crosby reportedly played through the injury for two months before the Raiders decided to shut him down after Week 15, allowing him to recover by the start of the 2026 season.
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" Maxx Crosby had surgery to repair his meniscus right around the end of the season," Rapoport said on March 10. "Meniscus repairs can take three to four months. He was doing well, it was not as major as it could have been.
"If you trade for Maxx Crosby, you have a belief that he is not going to be fully healthy, but that he's going to be far enough along where you feel confident that his knee is going to be fine. This decision ... is an indication that [the Ravens] do not believe it is going to be fine."
The Ravens had initially agreed to trade two first-round picks for Crosby – one in 2026 and one in 2027. Had the trade been finalized at the start of the new league year as expected, it would have been the first time the Ravens traded a first-round pick for a player, according to Rapoport.
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With the trade canceled, the Ravens will receive their picks back.
Maxx Crosby injury history
Crosby has missed as many games with injuries in his NFL career as the number of years he has played in the league: seven. All seven games he's missed have been in the last two years alone.
In 2024, the Raiders' pass rusher missed five games with a high ankle sprain he sustained early in the season, then re-aggravated weeks later. Crosby initially suffered the injury in a Week 2 game against the Ravens, tried to play through it in Week 3, then missed a Week 4 contest against the Cleveland Browns .
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Ten weeks later, Crosby re-aggravated the injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14. He finished out the game but sat out the final four games of the season to get a head start on rehabbing from the injury.
In 2025, Crosby started all 15 games he played in to begin the year. He suffered a knee injury against the Chiefs in Week 7. While he missed the rest of that game, he returned in for the Raiders' next game in Week 9 after their Week 8 bye.
Ahead of Week 17, the Raiders decided to shut down Crosby for the final two games of the year to repair his meniscus and begin his recovery process.
Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer reported at the time that Crosby "vehemently disagreed" with the decision and "left the building." Crosby posted a video of himself playing basketball and jumping on a trampoline shortly after the Raiders placed him on injured reserve.
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Maxx Crosby stats
Crosby is in third place on the Raiders' list of career sack leaders through seven seasons. Here's a look at his career stats:
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Tackles (for a loss):439 (133)
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Quarterback hits:164
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Sacks:69.5
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Forced fumbles:11
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Passes defensed:29
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Interceptions:1
Crosby has been a Pro Bowl edge defender in each of his last five seasons. In 2023, he finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting in addition to earning his second All-Pro second team nod of his career.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maxx Crosby trade nixed by Ravens. Here's why they backed out
