In one of the more shocking and dramatic offseason twists in NFL history, the Baltimore Ravens have backed out of their trade with the Oakland Raiders for NFL All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
The Ravens and Raiders agreed to the trade on Friday night, sending their 2026 and 2027 1st round picks to the Raiders in exchange for Crosby, who signed a 3-year, $106.5 million contract extension before the 2025 season.
“The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby,” the Raiders said in a statement shared to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter’s official X account on Tuesday night. “We will have no further comment at this time.”
“Trade off,” Schefter wrote. “Las Vegas had initially agreed to trade the five-time Pro-Bowl DE to Baltimore in exchange for 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. No longer.”
It was the 1st time in the Ravens franchise history that 1st round picks had been given up in a trade. The addition of Crosby, considered one of the NFL’s elite edge rushers, lowered Baltimore’s Super Bowl odds from +1100 to +950 almost overnight.
“Maxx Crosby did not pass his physical today, per sources,” The Athletic’s Diana Russini wrote on her official X account. “The Ravens get their first round picks back.”
Crosby had been in Baltimore the last few days, undergoing physical exams, which are part of finalizing any trade.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, it was a medical issue that held up the trade.
“Maxx Crosby had surgery to repair his meniscus right around the end of the season, and meniscus recoveries take 3-4 months,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said after the news broke on Tuesday night. ” … it appears the Ravens are just not comfortable with what they found during the medical exams for Maxx Crosby, so now the trade is off.”
Crosby Seemed All In On Joining the Ravens
For all intents and purposes, Crosby seemed all in on joining the Ravens and said as much in an emotional, 12-minute video posted to his official X account on Saturday.
“It’s a new day,” Crosby said. “I’m going to Baltimore. Flock Nation, everybody in the whole city of Baltimore, I’ve got a lot to learn. I’ll attack it head-on like I do anything else, but everything is going to be new to me. To the fans there, I’m not going to sit here and make a bunch of grand predictions or anything of that nature. I’m going there with 1 purpose, and that’s to help ultimately to get this team where it needs to be and where everybody wants to go, and that’s winning a Super Bowl. And I know that’s going to be very difficult and there’s no guarantee in that, but I’m going to give everything in my heart and soul to bring a championship to Baltimore … no more words needed for that. I’m going to lead by action. Lead fully … I want to get to that pinnacle.”
Ravens Must Move Quickly to Sign Hendrickson
Losing Crosby could send the Ravens into a tailspin that could threaten the 2026 season. It was something that was already looking like an uphill battle after the franchise lost 9 players to free agency over the last 2 days, including 8 starters.
The key to saving the season might be to move quickly and sign Cincinnati Bengals free-agent edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who is still available as teams have reportedly balked at his asking price of between $30 million to $40 million per season.
Ravens Call Off Trade for NFL All-Pro Edge Rusher Maxx Crosby