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Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby addressed the nixed trade to the Baltimore Ravens during the latest episode of his podcast The Rush, giving an in-depth reaction to how the deal fell through from his perspective.
"I mean I've gone through some s--t in my life, I can't lie. But that whole situation was probably one of the most unique, crazy, wild, up-and-down roller coasters I've ever been a part of for about five days, I would say. It was crazy," said Crosby, who celebrated six years of sobriety the day after the trade was called off.
"I don't play for that external stuff," he added. "I play the game because I love it, because it's my passion since I was a child. I play for my legacy. I play to win. I play for my teammates. It just made that s--- even more clear. … You think this s--- was hard? It was a lot, but I've been through way worse in my life. I've been through real adversity a million times over."
Crosby, 28, who underwent a meniscus repair during the offseason, said the energy felt off when he met with Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta and the team eventually told him that one of its doctors was concerned with the testing results regarding his knee and future. Baltimore said it wanted "more and more opinions," at which point Crosby was "terrified and wondering if something was wrong," specifically fearing that he'd once again have to undergo surgery, before learning of the trade's reversal on March 10, having instead signed free agent pass rusher Trey Hendrickson the following day.
"I'm f------ livid, confused, the whole nine, all in one," Crosby said.
The former All-Pro said he received affirmation from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery and told him, "You're doing everything right, everything's going well, we're going to keep sticking to the plan -- you will be back by training camp." Crosby later reaffirmed his commitment to the Raiders in a post shared on his X account, which he echoed on his podcast.
"S--t happens for a reason, I know exactly who I am -- I'm healthy, I'm f---ing crushing my rehab, I'm doing what I'm doing. I wasn't supposed to be in Baltimore, and that's it. I'm meant to be a Raider -- it's through my damn core. And that's it; you know what I mean? I'll leave it simple as that," he said.