LAS VEGAS — Well, the shoe that everyone expected to drop, finally did indeed drop when the news broke Friday.
Maxx Crosby is no longer a Las Vegas Raider.
The five-time Pro-Bowl edge rusher is going to be a Baltimore Raven after the Raiders dealt Crosby for two first-round draft picks. The Ravens didn’t appear to be serious players as the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles all were rumored to be the most interested suitors for Crosby. But they were willing to meet the Raiders’ price and it becomes official in a few days.
My feeling? It was right for both sides. Crosby wasn’t winning in Las Vegas. Perhaps he gets the chance to experience the postseason in Baltimore, maybe even get to play in a Super Bowl. The Raiders got a nice haul for a guy who was originally a fourth-round pick that developed into an elite player in the NFL.
This was never going to end well, not after the Raiders put Crosby on the shelf with two weeks to go in the regular season despite Crosby having played hurt for the majority of the year. It led to hurt feelings, lots of finger-pointing and bitterness toward the organization from a guy who exemplified what is to be a Raider. At least what the exemplification used to be.
He was going to play for yet another new coach anyway. So instead of Klint Kubiak in Vegas, it's Jesse Minter in Baltimore.
So John Spytek, the team’s general manager who is being entrusted with trying to resuscitate this barely-breathing franchise, did the right and prudent thing. He moved on from his best player in the hopes of gaining enough assets to help the Raiders move forward.
Football, like all professional sports, is a heartless business. Star players get moved, fans feel betrayed, franchises try to win in the aftermath. Hell, Wayne Gretzky, one of hockey’s all-time great players, got traded.
Sure, the Raiders could’ve kept Crosby, tried to continue to put pieces around him and hope it worked out. But here’s the reality — Crosby, as great as he has been when healthy, and this is the key phrase, can’t stay healthy. He has battled injuries almost on an annual basis. The latest is the knee surgery he wound up having after the Raiders held him out the final two games of what became a disastrous 3-14 season.
A cynic will tell you it helped the Raiders tank, to ensure they got the No. 1 overall draft pick. Of course, that being the case, then how come they beat the Chiefs in the final week of the season?
They were still playing hard for Pete Carroll, who would lose his job the following day. There was still a semblance of pride in the locker room.
Yes, the math still worked in the Raiders’ favor despite the win over Kansas City. And now Spytek is at the GM’s blackboard, trying to work out the equations that will come up with the formula for success.
On the flip side, there are those who will say good for Spytek, that the Raiders weren’t winning with Crosby, that getting a first-round pick this year to go along with the No. 1 plus a first-round selection in 2027 can ultimately help the Raiders have long-term success. Of course, that’s assuming the picks they ultimately select work out. And we’re not going to know that for a couple of years.
For Raider Nation, which has had a love affair with Crosby from the outset, this will not be easy to accept. And that’s totally understandable. No. 98 is their guy. His nonstop motor gave the fan base something to believe in, a reason to come to the games when the rest of the team stunk.
So I get it. This is the polar opposite of Geno Smith, who also was told to go find another team to play for after the Raiders decided not to bring the quarterback back to help mentor Fernando Mendoza, the team’s QB of the future. Smith pissed off the fan base, not just with his erratic and dismal play, but his failure to connect with the fans. When you flip off the people who help pay your salary, it’s a sure-fire recipe for Public Enemy No. 1 status.
So Spytek, Kubliak, Mark Davis and Tom Brady are betting that they’ll get it right, that they’ll finally get the Raiders turned around, that the pain of moving on from Crosby will eventually dissipate among the fan base. Winning will do that. My hope for Crosby is that he can get healthy, stay that way and get to experience playoff football on a regular basis in Baltimore.