Klint Kubiak’s first foray into head coaching began by losing his team’s best defensive player — and then getting him back.
The Baltimore Ravens’ trade, which returned Maxx Crosby to the Las Vegas Raiders, has been discussed for a long time; Crosby recommits to the club and general manager John Spytek sees the end result as intended.
Kubiak spoke to senior national NFL columnist Judy Battista on Sunday at the annual meeting and reinforced the all-cozy narrative, even comparing Crosby to another big name in Las Vegas’ loaded free agent class.
“I think I saw Maxx almost every day,” Kubiak said. “He’s in the building every day, he beats a lot of the coaches in there. Really impressive guy. It’s really important for him to be a great player. You can just see how he comes. I think John (Spytek) said that, but it’s like he never left. I felt like we got another free agent when we got him back on our defense.”
The first-year head coach also isn’t concerned about Crosby’s recovery time from offseason surgery to repair his meniscus, an operation that may have contributed to Baltimore’s race to complete the trade for medical reasons.
“I know there’s going to be a point in training camp where we’re going to get him back,” Kubiak said. “I’m not going to go into it much further. I think in training camp he’ll be ready again. With the way he’s working, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s ready sooner.”