From Diva to Dependable: The Renaissance of Michael Crabtree
How Michael Crabtree has reinvented himself as a member of the Oakland Raiders, transitioning from a diva, underperforming wide receiver, to a thriving, veteran leader.
Seattle, Washington — January 19, 2014. A cold, night chill spreads through CenturyLink Field from the bay. Steam rises from the seats surrounding the field and off of players’ face-masks. An intense roar reverberates around the ground as a blue jersey comes down with the football in the corner of the end zone.
The Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.
As a crowd of Seahawks players jump around the end zone in celebration with each other, a lone figure walks dejectedly along the goal line, hands on hips and decked in white, red and gold.
That man is Michael Crabtree.
We all know what happens next. Richard Sherman races up alongside Crabtree, pats him on the behind and offers him a handshake “Hell of a game! Hell of a game!”.
Instead, Crabtree shoves Sherman’s helmet and keeps walking towards the sideline. It’s an image that has become cemented in our modern football consciousness, alongside the likes of Odell Beckham Jr’s incredible catch in his rookie season, or even Peyton Manning lifting the Lombardi after Super Bowl 50, riding off into the sunset as gold streamers cascade around him.
Whilst Sherman is handed the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play — and proceeded to label Crabtree “mediocre” in post game interviews — the moment reflected as much on Crabtree as it did Seattle’s superstar cornerback.
Crabtree already possessed a reputation as a diva, thanks to a contract holdout as a rookie, which kept him off the field until Week 7 of his rookie season. Reports at the time stated that the man who owned over one-thousand sneakers had a “diva clause” built into his contract, in which his salary was dependent upon his behavior.
Shoving Sherman away after the offer of a handshake added the label of being a bad loser as well.
Fast forward to April of 2015. Crabtree is a free agent after a six-year stint with the Niners — a period which saw him top 1,000 receiving yards in a season only once (2012), and critics who called him a diva in San Francisco were quick to point to a lack of top-tier production for a receiver drafted with a Top 10 pick.
In fact, NFL.com’s Chris Hansen went so far as to tweet that he “had not spoken to one person in the NFL who had a positive thing to say about Crabtree as a teammate.” Teams hoping for a wide receiver on the free agent market certainly didn’t put him near the top of their wish list.
One of those teams was Oakland.
Equipped with a young promising signal-caller in Derek Carr, the Raiders wide receiver closet was rather bare. Their best wideout (who they would later cut before the season) was veteran James Jones. Even though the Raiders were expecting to target a receiver in the upcoming draft (they would end up taking Amari Cooper), they still would need an experienced player to provide some much needed depth.
The Raiders had already tried (and failed) to woo the likes of Randall Cobb and Jeremy Maclin. So general manager Reggie McKenzie handed Crabtree a 1-year, $3.2 million “prove it” contract, a habit McKenzie had often tried on veterans from other teams with varying degrees of success. Lamarr Woodley, anyone?
The Silver and Black edition of Michael Crabtree however, is leagues apart from the previous San Francisco version.
In his first year with the Raiders, Crabtree equaled his highest number of touchdown receptions in a season with 9, and posted the second highest total of receiving yards in his career, finishing just short of 1,000, at 923.
In 2016, Crabtree is on-par to beat his previous high of 9 touchdowns in a season and at least come to close to his season yardage high. He’s become Derek Carr’s fail-safe with the Raiders, and is a dependable veteran for the Raiders bright young quarterback.
In Week 7 in Jacksonville, Crabtree torched Prince Amukamara to the tune of 8 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Hauling in a 56-yard dime from Carr, Crabtree somehow pinned the football beneath him as he flipped forward for one of the best catches of the week, if not the season.
Crabtree’s 8 catch 110-yard day against the Panthers further underscored both his reemergence and importance to the Raiders offense.
How then, did the young diva from San Francisco become the dependable veteran in Oakland?
Crabtree has received nothing but praise from his teammates and coaches in Oakland for his on-field performance, his work ethic, and his character off the field. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that this Oakland wideout was a completely different person to the one that used to be in San Francisco, a stone’s throw across the bay.
When one examines closely, it’s clear that two main factors have contributed to Crabtree’s success and re-characterization in Oakland.
First, the role that he was expected to fill in Oakland was that of a different type of football player than the one he was in San Francisco. This new role was one etched in the traits of leadership and experience. When Oakland signed Crabtree in 2015, the team needed him to be a mentor and encouragement for Cooper. Whilst it may seem crazy to believe given previous perceptions of him as a 49er, Crabtree has been just what the franchise needed.
"Following their thrilling victory over the Ravens earlier this season, Jack Del Rio praised Crabtree as “a great leader for us.” via Scott Bair of CSN.Del Rio continued: “We’re getting a guy who is a great teammate, who works hard every day and is very friendly for our quarterback.”"
Crabtree helps Amari Cooper to be the best receiver that he can be, as well. Reports out of Raiders practice during the first few weeks of the season noted how Crabtree pushes Cooper in practice, encouraging him after making big plays, stirring him just a little after a mistake to light the fire in the young, electric talent.
Crabtree has risen above and beyond the role he was given by the Raiders, a role that was perhaps just the right combination of motivation and respect the veteran needed.
Crabtree’s presence opposite Cooper has helped the former Alabama star, as well as the Raiders offense as a whole, in other ways as well. The two provide a dynamic one-two punch, with opponents forced to pick their poison week in and week out. One week Crabtree will have a big game, the next, it will be Cooper who has the big game.
An argument could easily be made that the Raiders possess two No. 1 wide receivers, which means that more often than not, either Crabtree or Cooper will be paired up against an opposing cornerback in a mismatch that the Raiders offense can exploit.
The second factor is the supporting cast around Crabtree.
It’s obvious that Derek Carr is a far superior quarterback compared to Colin Kaepernick, even in his best years.
Carr and Crabtree share a very close relationship, one that was evidently absent in the latter’s previous time across the bay. In fact, when asked if he’d ever had the type of chemistry he has with Carr before with a quarterback, Crabtree slyly replied “What do you think?” per Jimmy Durkin.
If you watch closely after the all too common Carr to Crabtree touchdown on Sundays, you’ll see the pair even breakout their own secret handshake.
Having a steady supporting cast outside the locker room has certainly benefited Crabtree as well. A revolving door of offensive coordinators in San Francisco certainly didn’t help. But in Oakland, Crabtree’s steadiness and reliability has translated into a receiver that leads the league in catches for first downs, with 21.
Interestingly, it seems that the media itself played a significant role in painting Crabtree as a young, hot-headed wideout in San Francisco. When he heard of the “diva” label that had been assigned to him, Crabtree was perplexed. When 49ers beat writers themselves label you as a diva, its somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy — even considering his aforementioned rookie holdout.
Everything that Crabtree would do, even born out of competitiveness, would be examined through the lens of a dramatic, self-absorbed individual. Similarly in Oakland, when Raiders beat writers wrote of him as a “veteran”, that’s what he became. No longer the young diva, he was steady and reliable. As 49ers legend Steve Young so aptly noted, in sports “perception is reality”.
Before the 2016 season, NFL.com released their annual “Top 100” special, a talking-heads countdown of the top 100 players of the previous year. Cooper just missed out on making the cut, and footage from Crabtree’s interview for the special sheds more light on the pair’s relationship.
Crabtree’s eyes light up as he raves about his young colleague “He’s lightning and I’m thunder…with Coop…we can go to the next level.”
It’s apparent that Crabtree’s focus is bigger than himself. He views himself and Cooper as a cohesive duo, not two individuals. That’s what a great leader and a great teammate does.
Ultimately though, its the connection between him and Derek Carr that has been the common denominator for this team, as is any successful wide receiver/quarterback pairing. We could talk about this relationship until the cows come home — Crabtree’s own words about Carr for the same “Top 100” program speaks volumes:
"“Derek Carr is the ultimate competitor. That chemistry man, you can’t beat it.” Then with a smile as wide as the San Francisco Bay, the veteran grins “That’s my quarterback.”"
