The NFL world was shocked to learn that the Baltimore Ravens backed out of their trade with the Las Vegas Raiders that was agreed to last Friday, which was set to send star defensive end Maxx Crosby to Baltimore and two first-round picks (the No. 14 overall pick in 2026; a 2027 first) to Las Vegas. The Raiders announced the news Tuesday night on social media.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) March 11, 2026
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that Crosby did not pass 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
Well, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reports that teams around the league are quite peeved with the Ravens for how this was handled, and on the eve of the official start of free agency and the 2026 NFL league year (Wednesday, 4 p.m. ET).
One NFL general manager even told Pelissero, “This is very much bullsh*t on Baltimore’s part.”
Pelissero delivered a detailed, impassioned report on the league’s reaction to the trade falling through.
One GM summarized the feelings around the league: “This is very much bullshit on Baltimore’s part.” https://t.co/GPC7e3LG21
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2026
“The reaction from other people within the NFL, that I am getting, is predominantly how the Ravens pulled the rug out, regardless of what their reasoning was,” Pelissero said. “This just does not happen. It has happened on multiple other occasions in the past, on much smaller trades or agreements involving the Ravens.”
“However, when you are talking about trading first-round picks, this is not an unknown issue with Maxx Crosby,” Pelissero explained. Everyone knew he had a knee injury. Everyone knew he finished on injured reserve. Everyone knew, based on [Ian Rapoport’s] reporting, that he had a meniscus surgery that was actually not just a trim, but a meniscus repair that has a longer-term type of timeline. But that did not stop several teams from offering a first-round pick and more as part of a trade offer. It did not stop the Ravens from offering two first-round picks. This is not a situation where, if you put in a bid in an online auction, then if you don’t like the item, you return it via Amazon! This is a trade involving a superstar player in the NFL!”
“Clearly, they came to the conclusion that there was something they were not comfortable with,” Pelissero continued. “And again, it does bear mentioning- 32 teams, 32 doctors, 32 degrees of risk tolerance. What one team might be willing to accept, whether it’s in the draft process, a free-agent signing, a trade, is something another team might say, ‘We’re simply not going to go there.’ That’s why every year, we’re going through the pre-draft process right now, you’ll hear about players having medical flags. There might be 31 teams who say, ‘We won’t pass this guy. We won’t put a uniform on him.’ But if one team is willing to do it, then that player is going to play in the NFL.”
This is one of the wildest stories the NFL has seen in years, and it’s sure to have significant ramifications for the plans of the Ravens, Raiders, and other teams and free agents. And that should lead to some more eye-opening quotes from around the league, like the one an anonymous GM delivered to Pelissero on Tuesday night.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.