No one would call the Las Vegas Raiders’ last few seasons a success, but they could at least say they had one of the NFL’s most intimidating defensive players in Maxx Crosby.
As a new era looms, with Fernando Mendoza expected to be the Raiders’ quarterback in 2026, Crosby’s time in Las Vegas is over.
The Raiders traded Crosby to the Ravens on Friday, sending the five-time Pro Bowler away just a year after he signed a massive three-year contract extension that seemed to secure his long-term future in Las Vegas.
Here’s a look at why the Raiders traded Crosby after seven seasons.
Maxx Crosby trade details
Ravens receive:
Raiders receive:
- 2026 first-round pick (No. 14)
- 2027 first-round pick
The Ravens agreed to trade their first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 to the Raiders in exchange for Crosby. Baltimore owns the No. 14 pick in this year’s draft, so Las Vegas now has two picks within the top 15.
The Raiders had Crosby under contract through the 2029 season, though getting out of his contract after 2027 could be easy. That made a trade much simpler to facilitate, as the Ravens aren’t necessarily tied to Crosby long-term if injury or regression hits.
Why did the Raiders trade Maxx Crosby?
By all accounts, the Raiders would have been thrilled to keep Crosby. GM John Spytek said at the NFL Combine that he expected Crosby to be on the team in 2026, telling reporters, “Maxx is an elite player, and I’ve been very upfront from the start when I got here that we’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them.”
The dynamic between teams and their stars is a two-way street, however, and frustrations had reportedly mounted on Crosby’s end. The Pro-Bowler was upset at the Raiders for shutting him down with a knee injury late in the season when the No. 1 overall pick was in their sights, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported.
Glazer gave some insight into Crosby’s thought process after the Raiders said they were shutting him down, explaining that Crosby thought, “Man, screw these guys. They’re shutting me down. I am not about this. Hell, no. I’m not doing it. I left the facility. I’m out. I want to get traded. I’m done.” Glazer said he had to “talk him off a ledge” after he stormed out of the facility in December.
There was some hope time and personnel changes would heal those wounds. The Raiders replaced coach Pete Carroll with Klint Kubiak, who won Super Bowl 60 as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator, and they promoted Crosby’s position coach, Rob Leonard, to defensive coordinator. Ultimately, the relationship wasn’t salvageable.
While losing a star is uncomfortable, the Raiders had motivation to consider a deal. They only made the playoffs once in Crosby’s seven seasons and were the NFL’s worst team in 2025. Even as he explained he wanted to keep Crosby, Spytek said the Raiders “need a lot more” good players, and one way to achieve that goal is by stockpiling assets rather than committing to one elite player.
Crosby might still have multiple elite seasons ahead — he doesn’t turn 29 until August — but whether he would still be in peak form by the time the Raiders are contenders again was far from definite. By moving on now, Kubiak and Spytek can move forward with more flexibility to fill out a roster that desperately needs quality players.
Maxx Crosby contract
Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million contract extension in March of 2025. The deal made him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player by average annual value for only a few days, as Myles Garrett shattered Crosby’s mark of $35.5 million per year the same week.
Crosby carries a $35.8 million cap hit for 2026, and his 2027 salary of $29.8 million becomes guaranteed on March 13. After 2027, Crosby does not have any guarantees left on his deal despite it running through the end of the 2029 season.
Maxx Crosby stats
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Sacks | TFL | FF | QB hits | PD |
| 2019 | Raiders | 16 | 47 | 10.0 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 4 |
| 2020 | Raiders | 16 | 39 | 7.0 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 2021 | Raiders | 17 | 56 | 8.0 | 13 | 0 | 30 | 7 |
| 2022 | Raiders | 17 | 89 | 12.5 | 22 | 3 | 36 | 4 |
| 2023 | Raiders | 17 | 90 | 14.5 | 23 | 2 | 31 | 2 |
| 2024 | Raiders | 12 | 45 | 7.5 | 17 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
| 2025 | Raiders | 15 | 73 | 10.0 | 28 | 2 | 20 | 6 |
| Total | 110 | 439 | 69.5 | 133 | 11 | 164 | 29 |
Crosby is averaging just under 10 sacks per season in his seven years in the NFL, with four double-digit sack seasons. He has been a Pro-Bowler in each of the last five seasons, earning two All-Pro Second-Team selections and finishing as high as fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023.
Maxx Crosby farewell to Raiders
Crosby released a 13-minute video where he said farewell to the Raiders and the people of Las Vegas. One of his most impactful quotes from it was, “I feel like I left everything I had on the table for this team. I’ve given my heart and soul and I feel like I let y’all down, man. Ever since Day 1, I’ve wanted to create and build a winner with the Raiders.”
— Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) March 7, 2026
