Meet Me at the Quarterback - Maxx Crosby Traded to the Baltimore Ravens
By Lee Wakefield
Welcome to a special edition of Meet Me at the Quarterback, as we take a quick look at the trade that went down between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens on Friday night. The trade will see star pass rusher Maxx Crosby move between the teams when the league year begins on March 11th.
This is what makes this section of the NFL calendar so exciting. Free agency is right around the corner, there will surely be further big trades similar to this one, and now that we’re into March, we can just about see the NFL Draft on the horizon next month. All of this as we move through the early parts of the offseason, when hope springs eternal for all thirty-two ball clubs around the league.
Regarding this trade in particular, I want to explore what the price that will be paid means for both teams moving forward and Crosby himself.
Let’s dive right in.
The Price
Baltimore is sending their first-round picks in next month’s draft (the 14th overall selection) as well as their first in 2027 in order to secure a high-level edge defender in their prime.
It’s a high price to pay, and the first time in Raven’s franchise history that they’ve traded away a first-round pick to acquire a veteran player.
It’s a step away from tradition for the team, whose philosophy under Eric DeCosta, and before him, Ozzie Newsome, has never really been centred around huge trades or splashing the cash in free agency.
For as long as I can remember, the Ravens have been about drafting well, acquiring as many picks as possible – sometimes through trading back in the draft, sometimes through working the compensatory pick formula – and shopping mid-market when it comes to free agency. The Ravens have maximised their talent and shopped smart. They’ve never really been big game hunters. Prior to this, the biggest trade we’ve seen them make for a ready-made, veteran player is trading a second-round pick to Chicago for Roquan Smith in 2022.
Comparable trades that have been made for similar players are Micah Parsons being traded to the Packers last year and Khalil Mack’s trade from the Raiders to the Bears in 2018.
Parsons was traded for two first-rounders and Kenny Clark.
The first trade of Mack’s career was a blockbuster. It meant the Raiders acquired two first-rounders (2019 and 2020), a third-round pick (2020), and a sixth-round pick (2019). The Raiders also sent the Bears a 2020 second and a sixth-round pick along with their star pass rusher. The change meant that the Bears were able to move up around in a couple of rounds as a bit of a sweetener.
The Panthers probably could have gotten a similar return had they traded Brian Burns in 2023; alas, they didn’t and got less in return after Burns had a lesser year.
So, as much as the instinct of some is to see this as an overpay on the part of the Ravens, it’s a deal that has precedence.
Crosby will turn 29 years-old in August of this year, so he’s in his prime, even if it is the back part of his prime. Mack was 27 when he went to Chicago, and Parsons will turn 27 later this Spring. So once more, the ages are fairly comparable.
Finally, in terms of the contracts, both Mack and Parsons needed new deals from their new teams upon the trades, whereas Crosby is sorted in that regard. He signed a new 3-year, $106.5 million deal last March, so Baltimore has him locked up through to age 31, and then they’ll have a decision to make after then with two seasons of film to play from which to make a decision.
With all this in mind, personally, I think it’s a fair price, even for a player coming off his worst season for a while, even when taking into consideration the relationship between Crosby and the Raiders was clearly fractured, probably beyond repair.
There simply aren’t many better all-around players in the league at the edge defender position when Crosby is fully healthy and motivated.
What Does this Mean for Baltimore?
Firstly, and most importantly, for us here at The Touchdown, it means our Perfect Picks article for the Ravens, which hasn’t yet been released at the time of writing, isn’t completely out of date immediately. Which is a huge relief, as there’s nothing worse, especially for a big series which takes a lot of work, for an article to be voided immediately.
Anyway, less about us and more about the Ravens…
I think this feels like a statement deal for the team as they enter a new era under the stewardship of first-time Head Coach, Jesse Minter.
This is the Ravens saying, “We might have fired our long-time leader, but we’re not going to be any less competitive”. As a Chargers fan, I can buy into that mentality, having seen what Minter brings to the table for the past two seasons. He’s a superb leader, a defensive mastermind and a wonderful defensive playcaller, who will maximise someone like Maxx Crosby to his fullest.
Minter’s scheme is very similar to the system run by the Super Bowl champions, Seattle Seahawks, under Ravens former Defensive Co-ordinator, Mike MacDonald, and is a scheme that may well become the new defensive meta in the NFL. Could they be back in the Super Bowl sooner than we think?
It’s a scheme that, in terms of rushing the quarterback, needs three high-quality edge rushers working in rotation and one interior pass rusher who can penetrate. Minter will not blitz very often and relies on a four-man rush the vast majority of the time. He will throw in simulated pressures and run some games up front, but it’s almost exclusively going to be four guys coming after your QB.
In terms of defending the run, it needs everyone to be sound in their gap responsibilities, make tackles and not be over-reliant on clogging the box up with bodies. Minter will play with light boxes and emphasize limiting explosive passing plays through the air, whilst testing the opposing offence’s willingness to grind out yardage three or four yards at a time on the ground.
Crosby fits both of these aspects really nicely, in my opinion.
When he’s on his game, he’s an elite pass rusher with a relentless mentality and who rarely misses time. He meshes his pass-rushing abilities with his prowess in the run game, and is one of the best in the league at the position when it comes to setting the edge and making tackles on running backs.
With Nnamdi Madubuike and Mike Green, the Ravens have the rushers that Minter will want. They will perhaps want a third edge defender to throw into the mix, as Minter’s best calls last year came when the Chargers had their opponents in favourable down and distances – Often because they’d played well on first and second downs – and were able to get their three edge rushers on the first at the same time. They’d push Tuli Tuipulotu inside and allow Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh (reunion if he doesn’t re-sign in L.A.?) on the field chasing the QB off the edges. That trio yielded pressure on the passer around 50% of the time when playing as a trio, so surely it’ll be something that Minter will want to recreate.
Having Crosby as the veteran cornerstone of that group is enormous for Baltimore and cannot be understated.
And How do the Raiders Move Forward?
The final two sections of this article will be shorter and simpler.
The Raiders move on from their face-of-the-franchise player into a new era. The Silver and Black are acquiring as many picks as possible, high-value ones at that, in order to surround Fernando Mendoza (we can write this in pen, right?) with as much talent as possible in the future. Take a look at how they may start doing so with our Perfect Picks for the Raiders here.
In a crowded AFC West, it is probably prudent to go for the slow build, and unfortunately, trading the team’s most valuable assets for their highest possible price is going to give the team the clearest path to gaining the most capital.
Yes, this means that the Raiders will likely not be a major player in the West, nor in the AFC playoff race for a few years. But with a division with Head Coach and quarterback combinations of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert and Sean Payton and Bo Nix, all of whom will have aspirations of winning 10+ games in 2026, and who could all have good-to-great defences next year, how realistic is it to expect the Raiders to be competitive for a few years anyway?
I’m not suggesting the Raiders should just accept the role of division whipping boys until the above combinations have moved on, but if they’re honest with themselves, they’re in year one of a rebuild that is starting from the foundations.
Patience is key for the next few years for Las Vegas.
Finally, is this a Good Move for Crosby?
Just after Christmas, I used this very space to wonder whether Crosby had played his final game in Las Vegas. In that article, I did have the Ravens down as a contender in the Crosby sweepstakes, so well done me, I guess?! But in all seriousness, it seems like a great fit.
The time just felt right for this move, as mentioned above, the relationship was, at best, strained, and at worst, irreparable.
Crosby arrives in Baltimore to a good team, with a culture of winning and into a new environment where he’ll be incredibly motivated – not to suggest he wasn’t for the Raiders – and be playing under a defensive-minded Head Coach who will be equally motivated.
In December, I said that the fit was right because Crosby would give, “Baltimore a true closer who can win one-on-one and collapse games late.” And that Baltimore, “are selective, not cheap. They rarely chase stars, but when they do, it’s because they believe the player defines a unit.”
The Ravens have cornerstone talents on the unit, like Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith, but Crosby now gives them another one, and a true difference-maker at each level of the defence.
In another Meet Me at the Quarterback article from earlier last year, I bemoaned the fact that we’d never seen Crosby on a truly competitive team and said I’d like to see that at some point… I think I’ll have that wish answered in 2026.
Crosby is in his prime; he doesn’t have a contract or finances to worry about. His time with the Ravens can be completely geared towards having personal success and building his legacy in the NFL.
Lee Wakefield
NFL Content Lead
Lee Wakefield IS A defensive line enthusiast, Chargers Sufferer, and LONG-TIME writer and podcaster with a number of publications. @Wakefield90 on twitter/X.