A little more than two weeks after the Las Vegas Raiders’ trade of Maxx Crosby to Baltimore was famously nixed by the Ravens, Raiders general manager John Spytek made his first public comments on the matter. His take? “Things have a way of working out.”
The Raiders traded the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end to the Ravens on March 6 for two first-round picks. Four days later, the Ravens scuttled the deal due to a failed physical. Crosby, 28, has been recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, though it is not expected to impact his availability for the 2026 season. All NFL trades require players involved to pass a physical before becoming official.
Despite all the drama surrounding the incident, Spytek’s approach to the topic was noncombative in an interview Thursday on the Raiders’ YouTube channel. He didn’t go deep with behind-the-scenes details. He didn’t take Ravens GM Eric DeCosta to task for reneging on the deal. He didn’t even address the late-season acrimony between Crosby and the team after the Raiders placed him on injured reserve in December, as speculation swirled the team was trying to tank for the No 1 pick in the draft.
Spytek simply kept his comments pointed forward.
“My relationship with Maxx, since I’ve gotten here, has been great,” Spytek said. “We had a lot of conversations throughout the season, at the end of the season, obviously, through the offseason, and obviously, we were presented with a challenging and difficult decision to make. Things have a way of going a certain way and working out the way that they’re supposed to.”
Spytek continued: “We welcome him like he never left, because he really never did. It’s exciting to see him work hard and attack the rehab like we know, and I know he’s going to be back, ready to rock in August and have a bunch of good years ahead of him still.”
In contrast to Spytek, Crosby was open about his visit with Baltimore in an episode of “The Rush with Maxx Crosby” last week, saying he was “terrified” when Ravens executives first told him the results of his physical raised concerns with team doctors.
“The first thought in my head, I was terrified,” Crosby said. “It just kind of hit me, like, what the f—? Is there something wrong? I’m freaking out. Low key and deep down, I’m like, I can’t get another surgery.”
After returning to Las Vegas, however, Crosby calmed down, and, like Spytek, figured everything had worked out for the best. “I wasn’t supposed to be in Baltimore, and that’s it,” he said. “I’m meant to be a Raider. It’s through my damn core.”
As far as Spytek, he seems ready to move forward. Later in his interview Thursday, he expressed optimism about the Raiders’ offseason, including a free-agent class that includes a pair of linebackers in Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, defensive end Kwity Paye and Pro Bowler center Tyler Linderbaum, a former Raven.
“We’ve got a great plan, we’ve got a bunch of great people working really hard on it, and we’re going to execute it to the best of our ability,” Spytek said. “We’re all really excited about where we’re at right now after the past month, and we’ve got really big things in our future.”