The Las Vegas Raiders have dealt with a lot in the past 12-ish hours, and it's really something that is borderline unprecedented in today's NFL. About a week ago, the Raiders and Baltimore Ravens had an agreement in place to send stud pass-rusher Maxx Crosby across the country for two first-round picks.
However, news broke on Tuesday that the Ravens did not pass Crosby on the team physical, and it centers around his knee, which he is right on schedule with in his recovery. All of a sudden, the Ravens backed out of the deal, leaving the Raiders retaining Crosby, his massive contract, and seeing those two first-round picks disappear.
In a major move, the Ravens clearly had some buyer's remorse, as the entire NFL world knew about this knee injury. And in unsurprising and frankly pathetic fashion, the Ravens just slapped the Raiders right across the face with some major news breaking Wednesday morning.
The Ravens just slapped the Las Vegas Raiders right across the face
It's like the Ravens didn't even call up the Raiders in the first place for Crosby, as the team is immediately pivoting to Trey Hendrickson, another stud pass-rusher who is on his way to Baltimore:
🚨 🚨 🚨 #Bengals FA edge Trey Hendrickson, the top pass-rusher on the market, is set to sign with the #Ravens, per me and @TomPelissero.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2026
With the Maxx Crosby trade off, Baltimore lands the top edge available. pic.twitter.com/EDFuM1sKbQ
This is just a brutal scenario all around. Not only will the Raiders not be able to get two first-round picks in another trade for Crosby, but the Ravens have just made the Raiders look like children. On the other hand, though, the way the Ravens have gone about this is a bit crazy.
They clearly were scared to go forth with this trade and may have used his knee injury as an excuse to back out of the deal at the last second. Like with most things in life, though, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, so the Ravens probably didn't want to make this major investment knowing that Crosby is still dealing with this recovery.
The Raiders were clearly operating as if Crosby was not a part of the picture, as they made a ton of aggressive moves in free agency, but if the two sides can come to a resolution, the Raiders may actually end up on the 'good' side of things here, as the defense is slated to get a lot more talented with the Raiders insane haul.
Hendrickson's deal with the Ravens is a four-year pact that can be worth up to $120 million, so it's a nice payday for the stud player. Hendrickson is a bit older than Crosby but is honestly close to as effective at getting to the quarterback as Crosby is.
All in all, the Ravens weren't willing to go forward with this trade, and it really is a slap in the face.