Maxx Crosby slams 'clowns on The Pat McAfee Show' in shot at Mike Lombardi

Following the Las Vegas Raiders' loss to the Denver Broncos, Maxx Crosby called out Mike Lombardi for his recent appearances on 'The Pat McAfee Show'

Credit: ‘Vegas Sports Today’

By Ben Axelrod on 10/07/202410/10/2024

After missing the first game of his NFL career due to injury last week, Maxx Crosby returned to the Las Vegas Raiders lineup on Sunday.

And after recording two sacks in his team’s 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos, the three-time Pro Bowl selection clearly had a message he wanted to get off his chest.

“It made it a lot easier that we won. I was going crazy at the crib,” Crosby said of his absence from the Raiders’ 20-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns last week. “And then I gotta hear these clowns talking online and talking on The Pat McAfee Show saying something’s going on and they’re speaking for me, saying I should be on the sideline when I have a high ankle sprain.

“These clowns are sitting on a couch talking about what I should be doing. But the reality is I’m gaining yardage and trying to get right so I can get back on the field. Everybody knows my intentions, they try to speak for me when, s**t, if you speak to me and you know what’s going on, then we can have a conversation. But don’t speak on my name when you don’t know what the hell is going on. These guys know I’d take a bullet for them. Everyone in this locker room.

In case it wasn’t already clear that Crosby was referencing weekly PMS guest Michael Lombardi, he proceeded to leave little room for interpretation.

“When you got clowns that are online and talking on — they got their one day of the week where they get to go on The Pat McAfee Show and talk. Talking about what we should do and you haven’t even been a GM — you were a GM for one year. So it’s embarrassing,” he said. “Don’t speak for me. I’m going to speak for my guys and that’s all I care about. So I get bothered by that.

“You know where I want to be. You think I want to be anywhere else? No. I got this s**t tatted on my body. I don’t want to go anywhere. At the end of the day, it’s just funny. You’ve got a lot of people that have a lot to say when they really don’t know what’s going on.”

“I gotta hear from these clowns on the Pat McAfee show. I’ll take a bullet for them, everyone in this locker room. You think I wanna be anywhere else? I got this tatted on my body.”

Raiders star Maxx Crosby clears the air after recording two sacks in a tough loss to the Broncos.… pic.twitter.com/HqmpGcaNNU

— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) October 7, 2024

Crosby’s comments were seemingly a thinly veiled — if that — response to Lombardi’s recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, in which the former NFL executive cited the 27-year-old pass-rusher’s absence from last week’s game as evidence of a “disconnect” between Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and the team’s star players.

“Maxx Crosby didn’t go to the game Sunday with a hamstring. That, to me, bothers me,” Lombardi said. “That tells me something’s going on in that locker room… there seems to be a disconnect here, but there seems to be more than one disconnect. Because I think Crosby has always been the team guy. But when he doesn’t show up to a game that tells me something without knowing something.”

While Lombardi made it clear he was merely speculating based on Crosby’s actions, it’s understandable why the Eastern Michigan product would take offense to the former Cleveland Browns general manager doing just that — especially with regard to such a sensitive subject. It’s also worth noting that Lombardi incorrectly stated that Crosby was dealing with a hamstring injury when he was actually recovering from a high ankle sprain, an injury less practical to be standing on an NFL sideline with.

If there was any question about Crosby’s commitment to the Raiders, it was seemingly put to rest when he returned to action on Sunday while still dealing with an injury that it typically takes multiple weeks to heal from. And even in defeat, it’s not surprising that he’d want to take a victory lap over someone making a flimsy case to question that commitment on a national platform.

[Vegas Sports Today]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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