The Baltimore Ravens are trading for five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby, acquiring him from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for first-round selections in 2026 and 2027, sources told ESPN. The deal is pending Crosby passing a physical at the start of the new league year.
Baltimore, which held the No. 14 overall pick this year, has rarely surrendered top draft capital for a veteran. This is the first time in the franchise’s 31-year history it has dealt a first-rounder for an established player. The Ravens reportedly outbid other teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, who were prepared to offer a first- and a second-round pick.
Crosby, 28, immediately upgrades a Ravens pass rush that struggled in 2025, totaling just 30 sacks — the fewest in 15 seasons and the first time since 1996 the team lacked an edge rusher with more than 4.5 sacks. Baltimore finished 8-9, missed the playoffs and made a coaching change, with Jesse Minter taking over and planning to call defensive plays. Adding Crosby gives Minter a high-level edge rusher to build around as the franchise pursues its first Super Bowl appearance since 2012.
Since entering the league in 2019, Crosby has been one of the NFL’s most productive pressures-forcing defenders. He has posted four double-digit sack seasons in seven years and ranks among the leaders in quarterback pressures since 2019, recording roughly 360 pressures — more than any other player. In terms of pedigree, he is the most accomplished pass rusher the Ravens will have had in his prime since Terrell Suggs.
The trade marks a departure from Baltimore’s usual draft-focused approach. Before this move, the most draft capital the team had surrendered recently was a second-round pick in the Roquan Smith trade in November 2022. Historically, the franchise has only been without its original first-round pick three times: 2004, 2010 and 2012.
Las Vegas had indicated a desire to keep Crosby, and owner Mark Davis, general manager John Spytek and coach Klint Kubiak publicly signaled that last month. Still, the relationship deteriorated over time. Drafted in the fourth round in 2019, Crosby spent five seasons playing through organizational upheaval — multiple head coaches and general managers, losing records and nine different starting quarterbacks — and he felt the team did not consistently reward his production and loyalty.
The Raiders’ 2025 collapse to a 3-14 record, despite signing Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million extension last spring, pushed the team toward a rebuild. Las Vegas has made sweeping changes, firing coordinators midseason and moving on from veterans while acquiring high draft positioning and focusing on young pieces such as RB Ashton Jeanty, TE Brock Bowers and projected top prospect Fernando Mendoza.
Crosby finished 2025 with 10 sacks despite being shut down for the final two weeks after a knee injury in October, a move that reportedly frustrated him. He has reached the playoffs only once (a 2021 loss) and has said he wants to be “the face of winning.”
For the Raiders, the trade clears salary and aligns the roster with a longer-term rebuild. The club also reportedly plans to move on from quarterback Geno Smith unless a trade materializes.
For the Ravens, the acquisition addresses an urgent need on the edge by adding a proven, prime pass rusher and signals a rare willingness to sacrifice future draft assets for immediate impact.
