Maxx Crosby trade grades: Who won Raiders-Ravens deal?
USA TODAY
The Raiders are trading Maxx Crosby to the Ravens in what might be the biggest move of the offseason. Who won the deal?
In what could be the biggest move of the NFL offseason − five days before the official start of free agency − the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to trade perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher Maxx Crosby on March 6 to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for two first-round draft picks, one in 2026 and the other in '27, per multiple reports.
The move should immediately restore the Ravens as front-runners in the AFC North and also bona fide Super Bowl contenders after they missed the playoffs in 2025, despite a loaded roster, and fired longtime coach John Harbaugh in the aftermath. As for the Raiders, Crosby's departure signals their embrace of a needed rebuild − something the franchise wasn't willing to do a year ago when it hired Pete Carroll in a bid to compete in a loaded AFC West in what was a failed one-season stint for the legendary head coach. Now, the team seems focused on collecting assets in order to forge a supporting cast around its presumed No. 1 draft pick, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
How did each club make out? Let's grade the trade:
This is a team that should be in the discussion to win the Lombardi Trophy annually − and usually is. But an organization historically known for suffocating defense lapsed to 24th in 2025, in part due to an injured and ineffective front. Baltimore's 30 sacks were tied for third-fewest in the league.
But now the Ravens are adding one of the league's premier pressure players at a time when newly hired head coach Jesse Minter − whose specialty is defense − can deploy Crosby, whom he knows well from their time in the AFC West together. (Minter was most recently the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator.) And while Baltimore is paying handsomely, Crosby is under contract through the 2029 season − though doesn't have any guarantees after the 2026 campaign, effectively making his deal pay-as-you-go at present. His three-year, $106.5 million extension, signed last year, doesn't even take effect until the 2027 season.
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