NFL
Ravens Set to Go All-In for Maxx Crosby, Offering Multiple Draft Picks
Tennessee Titans v Las Vegas Raiders by Brooke Sutton | Getty Images
The Baltimore Ravens, desperate for pass rush help and lacking healthy impact players in their front seven, are making a concerted to push to land Raiders perennial All Pro edge presence Maxx Crosby, according to multiple league sources.
Baltimore is trying to fix a broken defense under first-time head coach Jesse Minter, an accomplished defensive coordinator, and is dangling draft capital well beyond how the team normally operated.
General manager Eric DeCosta has hoarded drafted picks throughout his difficult tenure running the roster since taking over for legendary evaluator Ozzie Newsome, but he has failed repeatedly and mightily to land a pass rusher of any significance through first-round draft picks, trades or free-agent signings.
The situation became acute last season, when the Ravens had no one produce over five sacks, putting pressure on the front office to rectify the situation.
To that end, multiple high-ranking NFL officials from teams that have contacted the Raiders about Crosby indicated that DeCosta is prioritizing landing Crosby, one of the most impactful pass rushers of this era, and is offering the 14th overall pick and more in an attempt to land him.
As previously reported, the Raiders were seeking at least two first round picks for Crosby, and have not always come across to other teams as particularly motivated to sell, but league sources said there is a robust market for Crosby as we approach the start of the NFL league year next week and the period to official consummate trades and free-agent signings begins.
What Is Crosby Worth To Baltimore?
“I heard pretty strongly they are offering their one (first-round pick), plus two more Day Two (rounds two and three) picks,” said one general manager who is also in pursuit of Crosby.
“I don’t know exactly in which years, and they probably want them spread out, but Baltimore is being aggressive.”
The Ravens are drafting higher than usual, able to dangle picks in the middle of each round rather than in the back end as a playoff team.
DeCosta’s last significant trade for a pass rusher, Yannick Ngakwoue, was a complete bust. The Ravens have interest in bringing back former first-round pick Odafe Oweh as well, sources said, if they cannot land Crosby; Oweh had a breakthrough with Minter on the Chargers after his midseason trade to Los Angeles. Crosby, 29, expressed to Raiders brass late last season his intention to not play for them again and made a trade demand at that time.
Crosby has been durable and consistently impactful, playing 94 games since 2020 and ranking second in quarterback pressures, third in QB hits and second in hurries and seventh in sacks in that span. He has played on losing teams virtually his entire career, and getting to a perennial playoff team would have particular appeal to him.
Some execs believe Las Vegas will end up getting two first-round picks for him.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.