Maxx Crosby is a Raven no more. The Baltimore Ravens backed out of their deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for the superstar pass rusher after Crosby reportedly failed a physical with the club. The general consensus among the league is that Baltimore’s decision to back out of the trade is pretty fishy, and it became even fishier when they signed EDGE rusher Trey Hendrickson to a free agent deal the next morning.
Caleb Williams’ response to canceled Maxx Crosby Ravens trade raised eyebrows
From Caleb Williams’ Instagram emojis to Ryan Poles’ ears.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The Ravens had originally agreed to give up the No. 14 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft plus their 2027 first-round pick in exchange for Crosby. The Raiders responded by going on a mass spending spree in free agency. Now Crosby is back on the roster, and the two sides will either move forward together, or the Ravens will trade him to another team.
The Chicago Bears were one of the teams that bidding for Crosby before he was sent to the Ravens. Chicago reportedly offered two first-round picks for Crosby too, but this year’s pick wasn’t until No. 25, which gave the Ravens the clearly better offer. Chicago’s star QB Caleb Williams is quite fond of Crosby: he called him the best player he’s ever played against this past season, and then Williams appeared on Crosby’s podcast.
After the Crosby trade fell through with the Ravens, Williams immediately left a very interesting comment on Instagram:
That’s a smiling emoji, and that means Williams is happy that Crosby isn’t going to Baltimore. Could Crosby still be traded? Could Chicago get back involved in the bidding, potentially at a lower price?
The Bears have done nothing to address their pass rush in the early days of free agency. It was Chicago’s big weakness in 2025, and it sure feels like the team should be aggressive in trying to improve it given that Williams has two more seasons left on his rookie contract. With a better pass rush, the Bears could dream about Williams leading them to the Super Bowl. Adding Crosby could be exactly what they need.
I find it hard to believe Crosby really spends next season with the Raiders. They tried to move him, he was happy to be moved, and he already said his goodbyes to the team and the fanbase. If Crosby is traded again, don’t be surprised if the Bears are involved.
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