For 31 years, the Baltimore Ravens had never traded a first-round draft pick for a veteran player. That streak ended Friday night in dramatic fashion. In what ESPN's Adam Schefter described as the biggest trade in Ravens franchise history, Baltimore is acquiring five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for the Ravens' first-round picks in both the 2026 and 2027 NFL drafts. The deal, which cannot be made official until the start of the new league year on March 11, represents an all-in bet by Baltimore on the championship window of two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Crosby, 28, is widely regarded as one of the premier pass rushers in the league. A fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan in the 2019 NFL draft, he developed into a defensive cornerstone in Las Vegas, posting double-digit sack totals in four of his seven professional seasons. Yet despite Crosby's dominance, the Raiders around him crumbled — Las Vegas finished 3-14 last season, fired its coaching staff midseason, and allowed 17 interceptions from starting quarterback Geno Smith, who is also expected to be released. The Raiders had publicly maintained throughout the offseason that Crosby would remain on the roster, but in the end, a franchise committed to rebuilding simply could not justify retaining a player of his caliber at his price.
The Ravens, by contrast, had a different kind of frustrating season. Baltimore finished 8-9, missed the playoffs, and fired longtime head coach John Harbaugh — a stunning development for a franchise that had won at least nine games in five consecutive seasons. New head coach Jesse Minter, who will call defensive plays, is inheriting a unit that generated only 30 sacks in 2025, the fewest by Baltimore in 15 years. Crosby's addition immediately reverses that trajectory. He pairs with a defensive infrastructure that already has strong safety play and solid interior linemen; what it has lacked is a genuine game-wrecker on the edge. Crosby is that player.
Among the teams that coveted Crosby were the Dallas Cowboys, who were willing to offer a first-round pick and a second-round pick for the pass rusher — a significant offer that the Raiders ultimately deemed insufficient. Baltimore outbid them decisively. It is the sixth time since 2018 that a defensive player has been traded for multiple first-round selections, according to ESPN. Crosby's $35.5 million annual salary makes him one of the highest-paid non-quarterbacks in NFL history, a fact that will keep the Ravens' cap situation tight — but with Lamar Jackson now 29 and in the prime of his career, Baltimore clearly believes this is the moment to go for it.
Crosby posted a lengthy video message to social media after news of the trade broke, saying he had "zero ill will" toward the Raiders organization and expressing his desire to have given Las Vegas a championship before his departure. He posted: "I put everything into trying to win as a Raider, and I always will." His next chapter, paired with the most dynamic quarterback in football and a new coaching staff determined to return the Ravens to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012, begins the moment he passes his physical next week.