The Maxx Crosby sittyu-A-shun

Albert Breer@AlbertBreer
This puts the Raiders in an incredibly difficult situation. They lose the picks, they have a bunch of deals to be finalized tomorrow done under the assumption Maxx Crosby was gone, and now they may have to turn around and trade him again with the medical question hovering.

One thing to remember here: Failing a physical for an NFL player isn’t a black-and-white thing. It’s more or less based on a score for a player, and different teams will have different levels of tolerance for risk off that score.

The other thing involved is the level of investment—naturally, a team is going to be more willing to take a risk signing a guy to a one-year deal than it would be, say, trading two first-round picks for a player. That’s why, in the draft, oftentimes you’ll hear there might be a certain round where a team would be comfortable taking a player with injury history.

Anyway, this is all a big mess. And the grey area leaves a lot open for interpretation.

Jay Glazer@JayGlazer
Teams around the NFL are definitely shocked to say the least at the Ravens backing out and a few teams who were previously interested already committed their money elsewhere so they can’t jump in now. Bad all around

Mitchell Schwartz@MitchSchwartz71
Nah it’s not simply that. Had to have found something else more troubling

Nick Wagoner@nwagoner
While it’s true every team’s medical staff evaluates injuries/health situations differently, you’d have to think if what Baltimore saw was enough to back out the price on Maxx Crosby is going to drop somewhat significantly.

How much and whether the Raiders would move him for it are big questions moving forward.

Michael Silver@MikeSilver
1) What likely happens next: Teams who considered trading for Crosby go back to the Raiders and inquire about trading for him–at lower compensation than previously discussed. Trades could be contingent upon him passing a physical if the Raiders give permission…

2) Teams could also offer conditional picks: For example, a first-rounder than becomes a third-rounder if Crosby were to miss, say, nine games in 2026 because of the knee…

3) Presumably, Crosby could also return to the Raiders, reconsider his stance on wanting to play elsewhere and remain in silver and black

Bottom line: This absolutely could be a case of the Ravens being scared away by the state of Crosby’s knee. It could also be buyer’s remorse… with the failed physical as an excuse. And other teams might view those same results differently, and decide to take the risk…

One high-ranking executive for a team that talked to the Raiders about Crosby told me, “I don’t know what they do now. I don’t know how they walk it back.” Presumably, another team could assess Crosby’s knee and decide the risk is palatable. “They won’t get two 1s though.”

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
I’ve been told by two league sources that the @Raiders should have the necessary cap space to welcome Maxx back and honor all the free agent commitments they have made.

If so, the team Crosby returns to is far different than the one he briefly left? Enough to want to stay?

Sam Monson@SamMonsonNFL
Wonder how many dominoes the Crosby thing could possibly knock over.

Dallas trading for him, rescinds the trade for Gary, who then gets cut.

Ravens could sign Hendrickson AND draft EDGE at 14, and still have next year’s 1st.

Raiders may suddenly need another iOL if they had 14 overall earmarked for one.

Steve Wyche@wyche89
With the Maxx Crosby/voided Ravens trade, I remember in 2014 when the Raiders voided a big signing of G Rodger Saffold because of shoulder concerns. Saffold returned to the Rams, signed a new deal and had a damn good career.