Maxx Crosby wanted to be a ‘Raider for life,’ but then it all fell apart

Mark Davis knew it was over; it was really just a matter of giving his blessing.

So the Raiders’ owner went to Maxx Crosby’s house two months ago, and the two talked for hours about the pass rusher’s issues with the present state of affairs in Las Vegas. They shared some laughs about the past and then agreed that maybe it was time to have different futures.

Crosby didn’t wipe his Instagram page of Raiders pictures or publicly say he wanted out, which helped Raiders general manager John Spytek keep some leverage and find a buyer on Friday night, when the Baltimore Ravens agreed to give up two first-round picks (No. 14 in April, and another one in 2027) to trade for a game-changing player who often said he was “a Raider for life” — and meant it.

Crosby, 28, has been the face of the franchise for the last three years, and he’s been close with Davis ever since he showed up in 2019 as a fourth-round draft pick and had the Raiders shield tattooed on his arm. It was the first of many, many … many tattoos, paling only next to his 360 quarterback pressures over seven seasons, the most in the NFL.

But the Raiders didn’t win with Crosby, in large part because they had five coaches and four general managers in his seven seasons — and they all struggled with draft picks and/or free-agent signings. Crosby enjoyed only one winning season, in 2021, and the last two — with a combined seven wins — were the worst since the ink dried on that shield on his arm.

The glimmer in Crosby’s eyes started to fade, first in 2024.

The Raiders have always given Crosby a lot of leeway. Back in 2023, he brought cigars in the locker room after games to celebrate the Raiders winning five of their last nine under interim coach Antonio Pierce and finishing the season 8-9. Davis would have likely given Pierce the full-time bump anyway, but he didn’t appreciate when Crosby made thinly veiled threats on his podcast that he might ask for a trade if Pierce wasn’t named head coach.

Davis didn’t speak to Crosby for months after that. Worse, Pierce was ill-prepared for the permanent job of managing a team and had a falling-out with star receiver Davante Adams as the Raiders lost 12 of their first 14 games. It was another lesson for Crosby, who had tackled sobriety after a rowdy rookie year with the Raiders. He went back to just focusing on playing football and pushing teammates to follow his maniacal training and practice habits.

The Raiders then brought in yet another new power duo in Spytek and coach Pete Carroll, and they gave Crosby yet another contract extension. He signed last March for three years and $106.5 million — with $91.5 million guaranteed — to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Crosby and Davis were good again; Crosby was shooting baskets and cracking jokes with Carroll at the facility, and new minority owner Tom Brady stopped by once a month or so to compare greatness.

But Carroll and Spytek were clearly not on the same page with roster construction and the goals of the season. Younger players either watched or didn’t improve as the Raiders stunk on ice.

They lost nine games in a row and were 2-13 when the ice cracked, after Spytek told Crosby the team was shutting him down for the last two games of the season. Crosby was going to need surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, but the move was made to tank and make sure the Raiders lost and kept the No. 1 overall draft pick. Crosby stormed out of the team’s training facility.

Crosby had already been having issues with wellness coordinator Alex Guerrero, and therefore with Brady, as Guerrero trained Brady for most of his career before they became business partners in a health and wellness brand.

The Raiders, ironically, won their last game of the season but still held onto the No. 1 pick. They plan to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza to work with new coach Klint Kubiak, who is fresh off a Super Bowl win calling plays for the Seattle Seahawks. Mendoza will join tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty as new foundational pieces for a rebuilding team that hopes to be better off long term with two first-round picks than with Crosby.

The Raiders have to be thrilled with the haul, because they were going to trade Crosby one way or the other. The pending start of the legal tampering window on Monday and official opening of free agency on Wednesday pushed the Ravens to outbid the Dallas Cowboys and a couple of mystery teams, per league sources.

Crosby is giddy that he gets to play for a team that has had only two losing seasons and won three playoff games during his seven years in the league. Though he has had eight surgeries during that span — the most serious being one on his knee after the 2023 season and one on his ankle after 2024 — Crosby is expected to pass his physical with the Ravens next week.

And there’s a real chance the long-armed Crosby has only scratched the surface of his talent. The five-time Pro Bowler had 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss last season. He recorded 69.5 career sacks for the Raiders while getting very little help from teammates next to him or behind him. Big free-agent signings Chandler Jones (2022) and Christian Wilkins (2024) flamed out off the field, and first-round pick Tyree Wilson (2023) has been a bust, so Crosby has often been double-teamed — with a tight end or running back coming in to chip him as well. And he still gets by them.

Also factor in that Crosby put up all those stats for a team that almost never led in the fourth quarter. Opponents didn’t have to throw, and there were much fewer pass-rushing opportunities for him.

But Crosby loved the challenge, and he never shied away from the hard work. He did love Raiders fans in both Oakland and Las Vegas who believed in him and loved his effort and swagger.

“Every time I get in the weight room, every time I step in front of the fans, I’ve given my whole life to be the best version of myself for you guys,” Crosby said last Friday night.

After making a bunch of awkward podcast appearances the past month, he was speaking at the Raiders’ Commitment to Excellence Dinner for fans, where he was presented with an award by the booster clubs.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without the fans,” Crosby said, “because I know y’all work your ass off to buy tickets and to support me. … I think about y’all every time I’m out there. I want to put on a show for you guys. … Go Raiders.”

Crosby was emotional, as he probably knew it was the last time he would say those two words.

The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game in 23 years, and just like former drafted star players Josh Jacobs (who also got a Raiders shield tattoo), Derek Carr, Khalil Mack and Nnamdi Asomugha, Crosby was not able to accomplish that goal. Mack, the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, was traded two years later at the age of 27. One Raiders fan commented on social media Friday night that “trading Khalil Mack killed my soul; trading Maxx just seems like another day.”

That’s because Raiders fans have built up a lot of scar tissue. That dense collection of cells and collagen makes them ready for the next fight, and the renewed hope that their team has a puncher’s chance with Spytek, Kubiak, a Heisman-Trophy-winning quarterback and two new, shiny first-round draft picks.