Maxx Crosby clearly wasn't himself on Sunday. He didn't have much of an impact at any point during the Raiders' embarrassing blowout loss to the Panthers, which felt especially concerning after a week spent listed as 'Questionable' on the practice injury report. He was clearly struggling to deal with the ankle injury that he suffered against the Ravens in Week 2, and the Raiders' defense just didn't look anywhere close to familiar without his production.
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And if you thought a 36-22 loss to the worst team in football was depressing, wait until you hear about what's going on with Crosby's ankle! Turns out, it can get worse. After the game, Crosby explained a bit more about what's going on, and it sounds like he and the Raiders may be dealing with this injury for the foreseeable future.
Maxx Crosby's tried to play through a high ankle sprain against the Panthers
"It’s a high ankle ,” Crosby told reporters in the locker room after the loss. “It’s sh---y, but I’ll be good. I’ll be better. It sucks. It’s unfortunate. I mean I hurt it literally the second to last play in Baltimore. Just part of the game, you know. Every time I go out there I’m going to try and be out there with my teammates. If I’m 100% or 50%, it doesn’t affect if I’m going to go out there.”
Outside of any injury that would actually force Crosby to miss the rest of the season, a high ankle sprain is about the worst possible outcome here. It's an injury that can force players to sit for weeks at a time, and one that lingers even after they've been cleared to return. It's an especially brutal injury for a player like Crosby, who relies so much on quickly getting off the ball and spends a lot of time bending around tackles; Raiders fans saw just how much of an issue it can be all Sunday afternoon.
The timing couldn't be worse, either. The team announced late last week that Malcom Koonce would miss the entire season with a knee injury, meaning they've lost most of the production from their top pass-rushing duo in the first month of the season. Now it's up to guys like Tyree Wilson, Charles Snowden, and Janarius Robinson to fill in, which is a lot to ask for the next 15 weeks. The Raiders' training staff has their work cut out for them.