The Las Vegas Raiders agreed to trade defensive end Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens on Friday night, sending the five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher to Baltimore in exchange for the Ravens' No. 14 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a 2027 first-round selection. The deal, first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 12.

Crosby, 28, has spent his entire seven-year NFL career with the Raiders after being selected in the fourth round out of Eastern Michigan in 2019. He amassed 69.5 sacks over 110 games, ranking third in franchise history, along with 133 tackles for loss, 164 quarterback hits, and 11 forced fumbles. The Raiders standout led the NFL in tackles for loss in 2022 and 2023 and earned Pro Bowl nods in each of the past five seasons. In 2025, he recorded 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss in 15 games before the Raiders shut him down for the final two weeks due to a knee injury that required offseason surgery.

The trade caps a tumultuous tenure for Crosby in Las Vegas, where the team posted a 3-14 record last season amid five losing campaigns, five head coaches, and nine starting quarterbacks since his arrival. Raiders general manager John Spytek and coach Klint Kubiak are rebuilding around young talents like running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers, with plans to select a quarterback such as Indiana's Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall. The deal provides Las Vegas with four first-round picks over the next two drafts.

Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension with the Raiders in March 2025, with an average annual value of $35.5 million and $91.5 million guaranteed. His 2026 cap hit was projected at around $30.7 million. The trade relieves that burden for the cap-strapped Raiders while delivering premium draft capital in what Schefter described as an 'offer they couldn't refuse.' The Dallas Cowboys had offered a first- and second-round pick but were outbid.

For the Ravens, who finished 8-9 in 2025 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018, Crosby addresses a glaring need on the defensive line. Baltimore ranked near the bottom of the league with 30 sacks last season, its fewest in 15 years. The team fired longtime coach John Harbaugh after the disappointing campaign and hired Jesse Minter as head coach. Pairing Crosby with two-time MVP Lamar Jackson gives Baltimore its most disruptive edge rusher since Terrell Suggs and marks the first time the franchise has traded a first-round pick for a veteran.

Crosby previously expressed frustration with the Raiders' lack of success, stating, 'When we're not winning, it's like, what are you the face of? I want to be the face of winning.' Spytek had praised Crosby as an elite player but emphasized the need for more around him. The move reshapes both franchises as they head into free agency and the draft.