On Tuesday evening, the NFL world was shocked to learn that the Baltimore Ravens were backing out of their trade for Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, due to medical concerns. The Ravens have since pivoted by signing Trey Hendrickson in free agency, while the Raiders are left in quite an awkward situation with their best player.
Now, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter has provided further context to what went down between the two sides, including the Ravens’ process for ultimately not passing Crosby’s physical.
“Obviously there are outside doctors they consulted as well, including the Cowboys’ surgeon, Dr. Cooper, who performed the surgery on Patrick Mahomes, who performed the surgery on Malik Nabers, who many teams and NFL players look to for guidance. So if and when the Ravens decided to back out of the deal, it also came after consulting with the Cowboys’ doctor, Dr. Cooper,” said Schefter, per Get Up on X, formerly Twitter.
NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic also reported on the Ravens’ state of mind leading up to the deal and its fall-through.
“Teams that were interested in trading for Maxx Crosby, including the Ravens, had conversations with his surgeon, Neal ElAttrache, and the Raiders’ medical staff before making trade offers,” she reported on X. “The Ravens’ doctors — along with multiple independent ones — reviewed Crosby’s MRI. They were unified in the belief that Crosby’s short-term outlook was positive, but there were concerns about the long-term prognosis of Crosby’s knee, per sources. Baltimore believed the risk was too high given the compensation it was giving up.”
Crosby is widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in the NFL today, and controversy arose toward the end of last season, when the Raiders opted to sit him, despite the star claiming he was healthy.
Now, that health was a big enough concern to blow up what would have been a blockbuster deal.
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