What is this, the NBA?! First we had Trent McDuffie, then DJ Moore, and now Maxx Crosby. The Baltimore Ravens just made a massive offseason move, acquiring one of the best pass rushers in the league in Maxx Crosby. The Ravens sent two first-round picks to the Raiders, including their No. 14 2026 first-round pick and also their 2027 first-round selection. It’s a massive win-now move for a Ravens team that has been trying to get back to the Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson at the helm.
ESPN sources: the Raiders agreed to trade five-time Pro-Bowl DE Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for 2026 and 2027 first-round picks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2026
The trade cannot be processed until next week, but it is in place. And Crosby is expected to be a Raven with two 1s back to Vegas. pic.twitter.com/rfExCLpXfF
This is huge for the Ravens. They have been perennial contenders, even Super Bowl Favorites, with Lamar Jackson at QB. But have never made the Super Bowl with him. He has been able to rack up two MVP’s in his career, but the Super Bowl has eluded him so far. He strikes me as a guy who would trade those MVPs for a Super Bowl immediately. Famously declaring the Ravens are “gonna get a Super Bowl out of me, believe that” on that 2018 draft night. He’s gotta be thrilled the Ravens added a player like Crosby. Another person who has to love this move is new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter. Minter will be calling the plays on defense, and he just added an absolute game wrecker to his defense. The Ravens pass rush struggled in 2025 too. Having totaled just 30 sacks last season, which was their fewest in 15 years. So this was also a big need that they just filled with one of the best there is.
The Ravens have also been no strangers to postseason heartbreak. Most recently the crushing 27-25 loss to the Bills in the Divisional Round in 2024 where Andrews dropped the 2-point conversion. The 2023 AFC Title loss to the Chiefs at home. The 2019 devastating Divisional Round loss to the Titans. You get the picture – this team just can’t seem to get over the hump. Who can help with that? An elite pass rusher. Two first-round picks is a lot of value, but the price seems right in line to me for an elite pass rusher like him. This is actually the first time in the 31-year history of the Ravens that they’ve used a first-round pick to trade for a veteran player. Showing you just how big of a move this was for them. Micah Parsons was traded for two firsts and Kenny Clark last season, and I would say Parsons is viewed as just slightly ahead of Crosby in terms of pass rushers. I would personally probably have it Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, then Maxx Crosby as the top 3. So Crosby going for two first-round picks makes sense to me after seeing the Parsons deal last year. Elite pass rushers can close games the same way elite quarterbacks can. So Crosby can have a big impact for this team come playoff time.
For the Raiders, two firsts had to be hard to turn down. They had the worst record in the league last season, and are clearly rebuilding. They will likely be taking Indiana Quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall selection in the 2026 draft in April. You never know how long a new QB can take to develop. We were also hearing reports that the relationship was strained between Crosby and the Raiders. Crosby has proven to be one of the best players in the NFL but has only been to the playoffs once, has had five losing seasons, five different head coaches, and four different general managers. That has to be very frustrating for Crosby. Then at the end of last season, the Raiders chose to shut him down for the last two games due to a knee injury he had suffered in October. There was some reported disagreement with that decision, which I’m sure did not help the relationship.
Still, trading a player like Crosby is always dangerous. Crosby isn’t just a good pass rusher — he’s one of the most disruptive defensive players in the NFL. His relentless motor and ability to pressure quarterbacks on nearly every snap has made him one of the league’s most feared edge rushers over the last several seasons. Three of his last four seasons have ended with double digit sacks. In 2024, the only season in which he did not do it, he played just 12 games.
It’s also not impossible at all to turn things around quickly in the NFL. Look at the Patriots. Drafted Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL draft with the third pick as a bad team. In Drake Maye’s rookie season they went 4-13. As we all know, that same team made the Super Bowl the following season. Now I’m not trying to say that’s common, I’m just saying things can flip quick in football. Especially when you draft a new QB as the Raiders are expected to. I just don’t think teams should be getting in the habit of trading these elite pass rushers like Maxx Crosby and Micah Parsons. It’s not easy to find another Maxx Crosby – even with extra first-round picks.
The Ravens are clearly going all-in on their Super Bowl window after their past disappointments. It’s a big move, but I like this risk for the Ravens. The Raiders are starting fresh and hoping those two extra first-round picks can help reshape their future.
What do you think, who won this trade?
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