The Maxx Crosby trade fiasco, the Ravens’ motivations and how the NFL world reacted

The new league year began Wednesday with Maxx Crosby still a Las Vegas Raider, the Baltimore Ravens still the owners of their first-round picks over the next two years, and the NFL still buzzing over the continuing fallout from the blockbuster trade that wasn’t.

Not even 24 hours earlier, the Ravens shocked the Raiders and 30 other NFL teams by backing out of their trade agreement for Crosby, the star edge rusher for whom they were prepared to deal their 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks. Crosby, The Athletic first reported, did not pass his physical with the Ravens after undergoing evaluations by their medical staff Tuesday — four days after the two teams agreed to terms.

In the minutes and hours following Baltimore’s departure from the trade agreement, reactions from other team executives, coaches and agents ranged from skepticism of the Ravens’ motives — especially after they quickly agreed to a deal with Trey Hendrickson — to wariness of future dealings with the organization. One at least wondered whether the Ravens had intentionally gamed the system by waiting to see if they could land Hendrickson before clearing Crosby. Most didn’t believe that the unique situation would actually have any long-term effect on how teams do business with Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta.

And some brought up the oft-overlooked risk of assuming any transactions are final until physicals are completed and the new league year begins, which in this case happened Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.

NFL trades cannot be completed until a player passes his physical (or the acquiring team waives its right to conduct the physical).

The acquiring team has wide latitude in determining whether or not a player passes his physical because every organization weighs medical data differently. A red flag to one may not be to another. Famously, the Miami Dolphins were close to signing Drew Brees in 2006, but their doctors wouldn’t sign off on the quarterback’s surgically-repaired throwing shoulder. Brees signed with New Orleans instead and became a Hall of Famer.

The longer-term outlook on the 28-year-old Crosby’s left knee, as ascertained by their team doctors and independent consultants, was the Ravens’ concern, league sources told The Athletic. Crosby had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the knee in January.

Then on Wednesday morning, the Ravens agreed to a four-year, $112 million contract with Hendrickson, the 31-year-old edge rusher who was poised to become a free agent as the new league year began. Like Crosby, Hendrickson is also coming off a significant injury. He had core-muscle surgery in December.

“Having not seen (Crosby’s) MRI, it is hard to tell, but it definitely feels like buyer’s remorse,” an executive from another team said.

Others saw the Ravens’ decision as more calculating.

DeCosta said Wednesday that the Ravens hoped to acquire both Crosby and Hendrickson, and that they began talks with Hendrickson following the departure of center Tyler Linderbaum — who happened to agree to a market-setting, three-year, $81 million deal with the Raiders on Monday.

DeCosta did not address Crosby’s failed physical or any medical concerns, nor did he seem concerned about any damage to the organization’s reputation after pulling out of the agreement.

“We live in that age of skepticism, and people question, especially people that don’t really know me or know the Ravens’ culture and the Ravens’ organization. I understand it,” DeCosta said. “I’ve got a responsibility for the Ravens, to this community, to our fans and to (owner) Steve Bisciotti to do what we think is best for the club.”

Executives around the NFL voted the Ravens’ front office first and second in polling conducted by The Athletic in 2024 and 2025. There can be a fine line between being shrewd and deceptive.

Multiple agents, executives and coaches referred to Baltimore rescinding its trade offer as “bad business,” with one prominent agent noting that NFL transactions are a matter of repeating business, where relationships and trust matter. A veteran agent called the move a shock, but “not a surprise when you think of who is involved.” That was consistent with what two executives said about the Ravens’ reputation for, as one put it, “f—ing with people.”

Sources noted that anything discovered in the Ravens’ separate medical evaluation of Crosby should not have surprised them. The league at large has known the details of Crosby’s meniscus surgery since mid-February. NFL teams are allowed to exchange medical information during the negotiation process. It’s not clear what information about Crosby was shared between the Raiders and Ravens.

One senior executive with another team said that the typically transparent collaboration between medical personnel across teams represents “one place in the NFL where there is honor amongst thieves.”

The Ravens still agreed to trade terms that the executive called “out of character” for them — they had never before traded a first-round pick for a player — despite having at least some knowledge of Crosby’s medical risk.

“The fact that they were conservative on the physical is more aligned with how they are as an organization,” the executive said.

The Ravens have backed out of agreements before. In 2020, they were poised to sign defensive lineman Michael Brockers to a three-year, $30 million contract before his physical raised concerns about his ankle (Brockers had five sacks in 15 starts with the Los Angeles Rams that season). In 2018, Baltimore nullified a four-year, $29 million agreement with receiver Ryan Grant because of a failed physical. Grant signed with the Indianapolis Colts and had 35 catches and a touchdown in 14 games in his single season there.

This is not unique to the Ravens. The Raiders rescinded a five-year, $42.5 million agreement with free-agent O-lineman Rodger Saffold in 2014 because of a shoulder injury found during his physical. He played eight more seasons, mostly as a starter.

Teams can also choose to renegotiate terms if they find something concerning during a physical — and this usually leads to draft picks and/or money becoming conditional.

DeCosta didn’t answer directly when asked Wednesday whether the Ravens attempted to renegotiate terms for Crosby. “At some point, you get to the point where you look at the situation, you just have to make the right decision,” he said. “It’s not always about the value.”

The Raiders’ statement on Tuesday — which placed the onus on Baltimore for backing out of the agreement — did not suggest any attempt to work out new terms. The Ravens did not release a statement of their own or comment until DeCosta spoke Wednesday evening.

A senior executive from another team pointed out that there was no deadline after the initial agreement to come up with a solution, should the teams have wanted to renegotiate after Crosby’s physical.

In 2017, the Houston Texans’ trade of left tackle Duane Brown to the Seattle Seahawks stalled just before the trade deadline because cornerback Jeremy Lane, who was part of the returning compensation, failed his physical in Houston. Lane reverted to the Seahawks’ roster, but the sides amended the deal to complete it before the deadline. Instead of trading Lane and second- and fifth-round picks, Seattle sent second- and third-round picks for Brown.

One team executive thought it was most likely the Ravens played the Crosby and Hendrickson hands simultaneously, after gathering intel on Hendrickson’s market at the combine, to maximize their chances of landing one. This executive believes the Ravens would have preferred to sign Hendrickson without giving up draft capital to trade for Crosby, but that they couldn’t be sure they’d outbid other teams in free agency.

“I cannot believe whoever did the Ravens’ analytics said, ‘It would be better for us to not have two first-round picks with Maxx Crosby instead of having Trey Hendrickson with those picks,’” he said. “I just can’t believe that was said. And I can’t believe that that analysis wasn’t done in late February, the first couple days of March.

“If they could not get Hendrickson, they were going to go through with the Crosby trade, in my opinion. They were willing to pay that premium in draft choices as insurance.”

If, under this scenario, trading for Crosby was the Ravens’ fallback option, they might have had less urgency to complete his physical, this executive suggested. If the process dragged into the legal negotiating window, which opened at noon on Monday, Baltimore could get a clearer sense of its chances to land Hendrickson before committing to Crosby.

Such an approach would not inherently break any rules. The Raiders also could have insisted on wrapping up the deal quickly.

“They should have demanded that the physical take place immediately,” the executive said. “Because when you’re heading into free agency, you can’t live with that uncertainty.

“Normally, both teams have an equal level of urgency. But this was a case where it was a huge advantage for the Ravens to wait to see if they could get Hendrickson.”

Meanwhile, two league sources also expressed dismay for Crosby, who seems like the only actual victim of the situation. A failed physical, despite all teams weighing medical information differently, can paint a player as damaged goods. Crosby wanted out of Las Vegas by the end of last season. Now, either the Raiders must accept a lower-value trade than they had built with the Ravens, or he will stay for the foreseeable future. Wednesday night, Crosby posted on social media, “I’m a Raider. I’m back.”

The Ravens’ decision to rescind the trade is an extreme example of the risks associated with the NFL’s legal tampering window — the ultimate reminder that nothing becomes official until the new league year opens, contracts are signed and trades are completed.

As one senior team executive put it, it’s always subject to the physical.

“You see these headlines that so-and-so signed,” another team executive said. “No, nobody signed. Everybody has agreed. Nothing is finalized until we get to Wednesday, so anything is possible, and they have the right to back out for any reason they want.”

In one of the most extreme examples, the Patriots enlisted then-commissioner Pete Rozelle to help them partially undo their 1971 trade for Dallas Cowboys running back Duane Thomas — after Thomas had practiced with New England.

“I’m not saying this happened with Baltimore,” Upton Bell, the Patriots’ GM from 1971 to ’72, said by phone Wednesday, “but let’s say Crosby gets to Baltimore. He is still recovering from the injury. And then somebody comes into you and says, like they did to me, ‘Are you sure you want to make this deal?’ You are getting criticized. Do you really want to give up two No. 1s?”

There is only one way out at that point: the failed physical.

Two decades later, Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf spent weeks working on a trade to acquire quarterback Brett Favre from the Atlanta Falcons.

When the sides finally agreed to terms, Green Bay’s GM was ecstatic. Wolf was also fearful the Falcons might back out if too much time passed. Wolf formalized the trade through the league office without a physical. His heart sank upon learning the Packers’ medical staff worried that a degenerative hip condition might limit Favre to only three or four seasons.

“I’m thinking I’m fired,” Wolf said in a 2021 interview.

Wolf won out, and Favre set an NFL record for consecutive starts (321, including playoffs). The risk paid off.

This week will be remembered for the trade that didn’t go through. While some league sources expressed wariness about working with DeCosta in the future, especially on high-profile or high-risk negotiations, none believed there would be any long-term fallout from the situation. If a team wants to make a deal it believes will help win games, it will.

DeCosta apparently isn’t worried about any tangible consequences either. He told reporters in his news conference that the quashed deal has not stopped his phone from ringing.

“It’s not a good look for the Ravens,” said another veteran agent, “but I don’t think they care.”

— Jeff Howe and Dianna Russini contributed to this story