ExtremeRavens Posted Saturday at 02:38 AM Posted Saturday at 02:38 AM Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta intimated in January that Baltimore could pursue a couple of “big-ticket items” this offseason. They landed one of the biggest on Friday night. The Las Vegas Raiders have agreed to trade two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens in exchange for Baltimore’s first-round draft pick in 2026 and 2027, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. The blockbuster deal is easily the most significant trade Baltimore has made in 31 years. That DeCosta, who has been hit-and-miss on drafting pass rushers the past seven years, was willing to part with notable draft capital was also telling — of his conviction that Crosby can immediately help turn around what was one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season and help the Ravens live up to the Super Bowl expectations they fell woefully short of in 2025. “We certainly know that we have to augment the pass rush and improve there, and when we look at the best defenses, we see a ferocious pass rush, and that was lacking this year for different reasons,” DeCosta said at the NFL scouting combine two weeks ago, adding that it’s a position he felt Baltimore could “attack” this offseason. Crosby had reportedly been on his way out of Las Vegas after the Raiders placed him on injured reserve with two games remaining last season because of a knee injury. He was unhappy with that decision and left the building. The Dallas Cowboys reportedly offered a first- and second-round pick for Crosby, but Baltimore came in above them. It also marks the first time that the Ravens have traded a first-round pick for a player, and it gives the Raiders the first and 14th overall picks this April. Baltimore will now have Crosby, who signed a three-year, $106.5 million contract extension last March, under team control through 2029, with a salary cap hit of $35.8 million for 2026 and $115.8 million in total remaining on his deal. Though the trade, which materialized six days before the start of the new league year, cannot be officially processed until Wednesday, the Ravens can now focus on other needs. Most notable among them is a possible contract extension for quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, who seemed to know something big was coming with a post on X earlier in the day that read “boom.” Indeed. The expectation now for Baltimore is that Crosby, who will turn 29 in August, will help wreak havoc on opposing offenses the way that he has much of his career. It’s also a boon for what was one of the NFL’s worst pass rushes last season. There is ample evidence that he could have a major impact and help return Baltimore to being one of the league’s most feared defenses. Crosby has 69 1/2 sacks across six seasons, racking up at least 10 in four of them, including last season. Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones led the Ravens last year with five sacks, and Baltimore’s 30 tied for the third-fewest in the NFL, with the defense also languishing near the bottom in pressure rate and pass rush win-rate. By contrast, Crosby hit double digits in sacks despite missing the final two games because of a meniscus injury and finished with 73 tackles, two forced fumbles, six pass breakups, and his first career interception. A stout run defender, his 28 tackles for loss also ranked second behind only NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, and he has twice led the league in the category. His arrival also gives the Ravens their most forbidding pass rusher since Terrell Suggs and bolsters a group in need of top-tier talent as much as depth, with outside linebackers Dre’Mont Jones, Kyle Van Noy and David Ojabo all due to become free agents. Another encouraging update from injured defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, just before the Crosby news broke, could potentially further solidify the defense. Madubuike, 28 and a two-time Pro Bowl selection, suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2 of last season, and at least some doubt had been cast on his future. Second-year edge rusher Mike Green, whom Baltimore selected in the second round of last year’s draft, should benefit from Crosby’s presence as well. He had just 3 1/2 sacks in his first season, but his 34 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, ranked sixth among rookies. Outside of Green and Crosby, the Ravens’ only other outside linebackers are Tavius Robinson, who had 4 1/2 sacks in 10 games last season but is better suited as a dependable edge setter, and Adisa Isaac, who was injured most of his first two seasons. Baltimore also traded Odafe Oweh, who had 10 sacks in 2024 but struggled in Baltimore last season before finishing strong with the Los Angeles Chargers. The trade for Crosby is as well Baltimore’s most notable acquisition since dealing for linebacker Roquan Smith midway through the 2022 season for a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick, and their most noteworthy for a pass rusher since trading a third- and fifth-round pick for outside linebacker Yannick Ngakoue during the 2020 season, a deal that did not pan out well for the Ravens. Landing Crosby, though, is far more momentous. The Ravens are well acquainted with his disruptive abilities. After a 2024 Week 2 upset by the Raiders over Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium, Crosby was named AFC Player of the Week for his two sacks, six tackles (including four for loss) and one pass breakup. Despite his past two seasons being cut short by injury and enduring his eighth surgery in seven years, he has also been largely durable. Crosby has played 94 games since 2020 and ranks second in pressures and third in quarterback hits during that span. “I’m getting healthy. I’m in the building every single day,” he told “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” in February. “I’m in this building from 6 a.m. when it’s dark out, and I’m here until almost 2. … That’s all I care about, so all the noise, that’s news to me sometimes.” Crosby isn’t new to first-year Ravens coach Jesse Minter, who was the defensive coordinator of one of the Raiders’ AFC West rivals, the Chargers, the past two seasons. Minter also spoke about the importance of the pass rush two weeks ago. “There’s a lot of factors, I would say, that go into rushing the passer well,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s playing with the lead; sometimes it’s blitzing more. So, I think there’s a variety of ways to affect the pass rush.” Starting with having a highly impactful pass rusher. A 2019 fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan by the Raiders — a franchise whose unofficial motto evoked the idea that the other team’s quarterback needs to go down and go down hard — Crosby ranks third in franchise history in sacks behind Greg Townsend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long. He also has 439 career tackles, including 133 for loss, and 164 quarterback hits. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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