The Las Vegas Raiders' failed trade with the Baltimore Ravens involving Maxx Crosby has been a stain on an otherwise productive offseason for John Spytek and Klint Kubiak. Although the full details may never come out, based on what has been reported thus far, the Ravens seemingly acted in bad faith.
This conclusion has been reached through a myriad of reports, as well as Crosby telling his side of the story himself. Almost all of Raider Nation is in agreement that the Silver and Black got hosed, and that the way they treated Las Vegas' superstar edge rusher is patently unacceptable.
But former Raiders CEO Amy Trask, affectionately dubbed the "Princess of Darkness" and famous for being Al Davis' more calm and collected side, recently spoke on the matter. She, at least at first, didn't seem to think that the Ravens should be raked over the coals for the way things went down.
Amy Trask doesn't think Ravens operated with ill intent in Maxx Crosby trade
Trask, now an analyst for CBS Sports, spoke on CBS Sports HQ last week, which was brought to most of Raider Nation's attention by Q Myers and the Locked On Raiders Podcast. Trask was asked about the whole Crosby ordeal and Baltimore's role in it, and she was quite forgiving.
"Well, I don't believe there was any nefarious intent. There was no ill intent whatsoever. As we know, these things happen," Trask explained. "And in fact, it has happened to the Raiders, but they were on the other side of a situation like this. I think it was 2014. They had in place a trade for Rodger Saffold. He agreed to a new contract with the Raiders, but he didn't pass the physical due to a shoulder injury. And he re-signed with the Rams. So, not the first time it's happened. It won't be the last time it happened."
Now, these two situations are a bit different. Saffold was a free agent, not part of a trade, and that changes the equation dramatically. And yes, Saffold was a big-ticket guy at the time, but the deal was not in the same stratosphere as the Crosby trade, in terms of its league-wide impact.
Regardless, Trask held firm with her broader point.
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"Again, no ill intent in my view. And let's talk for a moment about team doctors and the role they have in all of this. In my experience, a team doctor is going to be cautious and going to be conservative," Trask said. "When the team for which that doctor works say, 'Is he going to be ready for OTAs? Is he going to be ready for mini camp? Is he going to be ready for training camp?' A team doctor who says, 'yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,' and is wrong may not be that team doctor for very long. So again, my experience is a team doctor is going to be very, very conservative and cautious in predicting, if you will, when a player may be ready. So no ill intent; it just didn't happen."
It should be noted that Trask has since doubled back on those comments in a social media post. Apparently, an NFL owner not involved in this trade reached out to her and informed her that perhaps she shouldn't be giving Baltimore the benefit of the doubt, and Trask acknowledged that.
She is one of the very few non-polarizing figures within Raider Nation, as she is a trusted voice whom people listen to when she speaks. So, it was a bit of a surprise for most to read or hear that she wasn't up in arms like the fanbase was.
But it sounds like, even if her original point is somewhat valid, she has come around a bit, based on more intel. Still, it doesn't sound like she is completely feeding all the conspiracies about Crosby and the Ravens, even if she may not believe the Ravens operated on the up-and-up anymore.