With the dust still settling from his blockbuster trade to the Baltimore Ravens, Maxx Crosby made sure to express his gratitude toward the Las Vegas Raiders.
Crosby, who turned himself into one of the NFL's premier defenders while donning the Silver and Black, said Saturday that he holds "zero ill will" toward the organization following his unceremonious exit.
“I wanted everything good for the Raiders," Crosby said in a video posted on social media. "I bleed Silver and Black and that will never change and I’m a Raider for life. I truly want to finish, when it’s all said and done, in a Raiders jersey whenever that time comes. But for the time being it’s a new day. I’m going to Baltimore."
Crosby's talents required the Ravens to send two first-round picks to the Raiders in exchange for the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Friday. The deal cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 11.
After a move that signifies the complete overhaul happening in Las Vegas, Crosby added that Raiders fans have "every right to be upset" about the trade.
Crosby, a fourth-round pick in 2019, emerged to become a star with the Raiders and has been a significant team leader and captain since the club's 2020 move to Las Vegas. Plenty of tumult has taken place along the way, with a number of head-coaching changes -- Klint Kubiak's offseason hiring being the latest -- and several losing seasons, but Crosby embodied what it meant to wear the Silver and Black, quite literally wearing the Raiders shield on his sleeve.
Over the course of his seven seasons with the Raiders, Crosby generated 69.5 sacks and 133 tackles for loss, respectively placing him third and first in the historic franchise's all-time numbers list. He was also viewed as an ironman, continuously gutting through ailments to play in every game through his first five seasons and missing just seven starts since 2020.
“I can’t believe that this is a real thing," Crosby said. "It’s been seven years of being with the nation. Raider nation has given me everything. My family, had the chance to get married, have the most beautiful daughter in the world. I’ve grown as a man, as a player, as a leader, as a human being and one thing I can say above all else is that I gave ya’ll everything I got and I have no regrets about that. I put everything into trying to win as a Raider."
Looking to return to the playoffs and turning the page on John Harbaugh's tenure, the Ravens gave up significant draft capital for the 28-year-old Crosby, who figures to fit in seamlessly on a defense going through its own changes following the hiring of Jesse Minter as head coach. Joining a star-studded roster led by two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, Crosby will bolster a talent-rich defense that includes Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey.
Crosby expressed his excitement to join the Ravens, but maintained that "the trust has to be earned" upon his arrival in Baltimore.
"Flock nation, everybody in the whole city of Baltimore, I’ve got a lot to learn," Crosby said. "Everything is going to be new to me and I’m excited and tackling this head on like I do everything else. Fans there, I’m not going to sit here and make a bunch of grand predictions or anything of that nature. I’m going there with one purpose and that’s to help this team to get to where it needs to be and that’s where everybody wants to go and that’s winning the Super Bowl.”
While he will soon be welcomed with open arms in Baltimore and likely one step closer toward Super Bowl contention in 2026, Crosby's past experience with the Raiders took precedence over speaking on his bright future with the Ravens.
Crosby's heartfelt goodbye was sometimes laced with regret, but never missing appreciation for the club that took a chance on him as an unknown pass rusher out of Eastern Michigan in 2019.
"I feel like I left everything I had on the table for this team," he said. "I’ve given my heart and soul and I feel like that I let ya’ll down, man. Ever since Day 1, I’ve wanted to create and build a winner with the Raiders."