In stunning NFL news on Tuesday night, the Las Vegas Raiders released a statement announcing that the Baltimore Ravens have backed out of a blockbuster trade between the two teams that was set to send star defensive end Maxx Crosby to Baltimore.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) March 11, 2026
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that Crosby failed his physical on Tuesday.
Maxx Crosby did not pass his physical today, per sources.
The Ravens get their first round picks back.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 11, 2026
The two sides agreed to the trade last Friday, with the Raiders sending Crosby to the Ravens in exchange for two first-round picks, including the No. 14 overall pick in 2026. Now, that’s not happening.
And now the Raiders are in the awkward position of having already agreed to trade away their franchise player, while being unlikely to get back the same level of compensation that they were to receive from Baltimore if they still end up trading Crosby. After all, now the whole world knows that he was unable to pass his physical and derailed a trade with the Ravens, so what team will still give up the value of two first-round picks for him in the coming days, weeks, or months?
Medical opinions are just that, so it’s unclear if 31 other teams would arrive at the same conclusion Baltimore did. But this could be a blow to the Raiders’ so-called resell value.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 11, 2026
Additionally, there’s talk that the Ravens could now pivot to the top pass-rusher on the free-agent market in longtime Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson.
Text from a GM: “Baltimore is gonna sign Trey Hendrickson. Watch.” https://t.co/YW3o1KE8A8
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 11, 2026
The news has shocked the NFL and could have massive ramifications for the plans of several teams.
Here’s a look at reactions from the sports media world to the Ravens-Raiders Crosby trade no longer happening:
Here was the breaking news on NFL Network that the Ravens have backed out of the Maxx Crosby blockbuster trade with the Raiders. 🏈🚨🚨🚨 #NFL pic.twitter.com/nQeIjKFwBV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 11, 2026
This Maxx Crosby situation is crazy.
There are massive ripple effects from it.
The Raiders’ free agency approach changed when they traded him. Other teams who wanted Crosby pivoted as well. The draft picks involved.
And now, the future of Crosby is the biggest question in…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 11, 2026
This puts the Raiders in an incredibly difficult situation. They lose the picks, they have a bunch of deals to be finalized tomorrow done under the assumption Maxx Crosby was gone, and now they may have to turn around and trade him again with the medical question hovering.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 11, 2026
I’d still expect Maxx Crosby to be an ex-Raider sooner than later
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) March 11, 2026
Whew baby
They better go sign Trey Hendrickson bc otherwise OOF https://t.co/cx0ARmOrzW— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) March 11, 2026
One high-ranking executive for a team that talked to the Raiders about Crosby told me, “I don’t know what they do now. I don’t know how they walk it back.” Presumably, another team could assess Crosby’s knee and decide the risk is palatable. “They won’t get two 1s though.”
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 11, 2026
Good thing the Raiders didn’t think Maxx Crosby was off their books and wrote $281 million in free agent contracts…
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) March 11, 2026
Man. The ripples. Raiders lose the cap space, lose some trade suitors that have addressed edge or spent their cap space, lose the two first round picks….and now they’ve got to convince another team to trade for a guy that Baltimore pulled the plug on. Absolutely wild. https://t.co/gCc3JEGFvW
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) March 11, 2026
Health issues and physicals failed have altered the @NFL before. The Dolphins medical staff wouldn’t clear Drew Brees’s shoulder so they signed Daunte Culpepper instead and Brees had a HOF career in New Orleans
— trey wingo (@wingoz) March 11, 2026
so Maxx Crosby could be a Cowboy
Dallas then backs out of the Rashan Gary deal
Packers don’t receive a 4th round pick
Gary ultimately gets cut?
tomorrow will be chaotic with all of these deals already agreed to!
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) March 11, 2026
And the Crosby trade led to this unfortunate situation for a Ravens fan.
Welcome to Baltimore @CrosbyMaxx https://t.co/0SV7bdrfZq pic.twitter.com/wSmGm0HRsU
— 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙚 (@Hamilton_DPOY) March 10, 2026
The NFL’s 2026 league year and free agency are officially set to begin on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.