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A debate started on Monday concerning which NFL players are the best at basketball after NFL Total Access revealed what their starting lineup would look like. A player like Myles Garrett was an obvious inclusion but there were some surprises. Interestingly, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was named as the starting shooting guard.
This led to his teammate Maxx Crosby showing off his dunking ability.
It was then questioned if Crosby would have any chance against Garrett. He said that he’d be willing to take him or even Chase Young.
An NFL-themed basketball league would be a great idea in the offseason if injuries weren’t such a huge risk. Crosby isn’t nearly as physically imposing as Garrett or Young but that doesn’t mean he’s not athletic. He runs a 4.66 40-yard dash at 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds. It wouldn’t be wise to count him out against Garrett and/or Young. However, we’ll probably never know. Large football players shouldn’t be playing intense games of basketball during the offseason. It’s not worth the possible injury risk.
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Crosby Recently Opened up About Sobriety
Crosby has developed into one of the most pleasant surprises for the Raiders. He went from being a fourth-round pick to their most consistent pass rusher. He leads the team with 17 sacks over the last two seasons. What not many were aware of was that Crosby was dealing with some serious issues behind the scenes involving alcohol. He’s now one year sober and recently talked about the journey.
“I woke up one morning, and I’m like ‘I need help,’ and I was at a point where I had no management of my life,” Crosby said on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.
Fortunately, Crosby was able to get on the right track before things got too bad. At only 23-years-old, it was likely very difficult for him to admit that he was dealing with those issues. He deserves a lot of credit for making his story known.
Crosby Could Be in for Big Season
After a 10 sack rookie season, the hype surrounding Crosby was very high. He looked like he could be the Raiders’ next great pass rusher. However, he took a bit of a step back in 2020 and only notched seven sacks. He knows that he’s gotta put in some more work this offseason.
“For me, if I just come in every day, do what I’ve done all of college, come in and outwork people and just make plays — and for me, my mindset hasn’t changed,” Crosby said. “Going into my second year, now it’s flipped, now you’ve had 10 sacks as a rookie, now everyone knows who you are.”
This offseason, the Raiders made a big move by signing Yannick Ngakoue. With him in town, a lot of focus will be taken off Crosby. That should give him many more opportunities to get to the quarterback. Even the best pass rushers struggle when they don’t have help. Now that Crosby has help, his numbers could be improved quite a bit.
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