Jamison Hensley
Mar 6, 2026, 09:23 PM ET
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens are acquiring five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The trade is contingent on Crosby passing a physical when the new league year begins Wednesday.
This is the first time in the Ravens’ 31-year history they’ve used a first-round pick to acquire a veteran. Baltimore held the No. 14 pick this year. The Ravens beat out other suitors, including the Dallas Cowboys, who were willing to offer a first- and a second-round pick, sources said.
Crosby, 28, significantly upgrades a Ravens pass rush that produced just 30 sacks in 2025 — the fewest in 15 years and the first time since 1996 the team didn’t have an edge rusher with more than 4.5 sacks. Baltimore went 8-9 in 2025, missed the playoffs and fired long-time coach John Harbaugh. New coach Jesse Minter will call defensive plays, and adding Crosby gives him a proven game-changer as the Ravens seek to break through to a Super Bowl berth they haven’t reached since 2012.
Since entering the league in 2019, Crosby has been one of the NFL’s most productive pass rushers, posting four double-digit sack seasons in seven years and accruing 360 quarterback pressures — 29 more than the next-closest player, per ESPN Research. He is the most decorated edge rusher the Ravens will have had in his prime since Terrell Suggs.
Baltimore has historically been reluctant to trade high draft capital, preferring to build through the draft. Before this deal, the highest pick it had surrendered was a second-rounder in the Roquan Smith trade in November 2022. The franchise has only been without its original first-round pick three times: 2004, 2010 and 2012.
The Raiders had signaled they wanted Crosby to remain. Owner Mark Davis, GM John Spytek and new coach Klint Kubiak had expressed that expectation last month. But the relationship frayed. Since selecting Crosby in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, Las Vegas never consistently rewarded his production or loyalty; Crosby played through five losing seasons, five head coaches and four general managers, and the Raiders had nine different starting quarterbacks in that span.
Las Vegas’ disastrous 2025 season — finishing 3-14 after investing in Crosby with a three-year, $106.5 million extension last March — pushed the club toward a rebuild. The Raiders fired Pete Carroll, then later secured the top draft pick and hired Klint Kubiak. With young pieces such as running back Ashton Jeanty, tight end Brock Bowers and potential No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza in the mix, the franchise appears to be resetting on a longer timeline than Crosby wants.
Crosby finished 2025 with 10 sacks despite being shut down for the final two weeks of the season with a knee injury he suffered in October — a decision that frustrated him. He has made the postseason only once (a 2021 loss) and has said he wants to be “the face of winning.”
The Raiders’ 2025 turmoil also included firing offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon midseason and underperforming quarterback Geno Smith, who threw a league-high 17 interceptions. Sources told Schefter the Raiders plan to release Smith, barring a trade, before the new league year.
For the Ravens, adding Crosby addresses an urgent need at edge rusher and brings a proven pass rusher in his prime to a defense led on the field by a new coaching staff. The deal marks a rare willingness by Baltimore to part with top draft capital to acquire an immediate impact player.
ESPN’s Ryan McFadden contributed to this report.