His exploits and endless machine made him the perfect Raider, but Las Vegas’ timeline to contend — plus Crosby becoming unhappy with the Raiders shutting him down for the final two games of the 2025 season with a knee injury — opened the door for an exit.
The Ravens walked through it with an offer of two first-round picks on March 6, a good enough move for the rebuilding Raiders to move on from the face of their franchise. The trade could not be approved until the start of the league year on March 11, but in the following days the Ravens, Raiders and the rest of the league proceeded as if a deal was done. It was an especially important mindset to consider during the March 9-10 free-agent signing window, when Las Vegas went on a spending spree after shedding a large salary and Baltimore spent as a team in preparation for Crosby’s $35.8 million cap hit.
But then, on the evening of March 10, the Raiders announced that Baltimore had “backed out” of the trade. NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported the decision was for medical reasons shortly after.
Crosby, who underwent meniscal repair this offseason, said on his podcast Tuesday that the energy came from meeting with general manager Eric DeCosta. The Ravens eventually told him that one of the doctors was concerned about test results regarding his knee and his future. Baltimore wanted “more and more views”; he was “scared and wondering if something was wrong,” specifically about whether he might need another operation.
When Crosby learned of the trade reversal, anger entered the mix.
“I’m f—— scared, confused, the whole nine, all at once,” he said.
But in the time since, he has found reassurance from his doctor, Neal ElAttrache, who performed his surgery, and comfort in returning to a place where he started and — even immediately after the trade was initially announced — hoped to end his career.
Crosby said ElAttrache spoke to him on the phone afterward and told him the following: “You’re doing everything right, everything’s going well, we’re going to stick to the plan — you’ll be back in training camp.”
On returning to the Silver and Black, he added: “S— happens for a reason, I know exactly who I am — I’m healthy, I’m f—— crushing my rehab, I’m doing what I’m doing. I wasn’t supposed to be in Baltimore, and that’s it. I’m meant to be my Raider dam – and you know what it is through those raider dams – that’s it? I’ll keep it simple.”
Crosby is quite remarkably rejoining a Raiders team that is probably more ready to compete than the one he left less than a week ago. Las Vegas is poised to select a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, possibly Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. The club signed center Tyler Linderbaum away from Baltimore to protect their quarterback of the future, and Crosby will be surrounded by a slew of defensive-minded rookies like Kwity Paye, Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Taron Johnson, all of whom still fit into the Raiders’ finances despite Las Vegas unexpectedly retaining Crosby’s contract.
Maybe the Raiders wouldn’t have gotten away with it so extravagantly if they hadn’t agreed to trade Crosby in the first place, but such speculation doesn’t matter to Crosby, nor the inner workings of a blockbuster that wasn’t meant to be.
“That’s the thing; everybody has their own theory — a conspiracy theory — nobody’s ever really going to admit, which side, what the real truth is or whatever,” Crosby said. “In the end it doesn’t even matter. I’m where I’m supposed to be. I know it.”