Raiders say Ravens have backed out of deal to send star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to Baltimore

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders said Baltimore has backed out of the trade that was supposed to send star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens for two first-round draft picks.

The deal was agreed to last Friday but couldn’t be finalized until the start of the league year on Wednesday. The Raiders announced Tuesday evening that Baltimore backed out of the deal. The team said it had no further comment.

Crosby underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and would have needed to pass a physical for the deal to be finalized. He missed the final two games of the season because the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time.

Crosby said on a recent appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” that he was “ahead of schedule” in his rehab.

The addition of Crosby was supposed to be the piece to help lift the Ravens over the top, with the draft picks expected to be part of a rebuilding effort for the Raiders.

The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss last season, and has reached double- digit sacks four times in his seven seasons.

Baltimore, which has a first-year coach in Jesse Minter, is in a win-now mode with three-time All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson. Crosby would have been a significant boost for a defense that finished tied for 28th in the league in sacks with only 30 last season.

The Raiders own the No. 1 pick in the draft and are widely expected to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Las Vegas has been extremely aggressive at the start of free agency, agreeing to deals with several new players and agreeing to trade quarterback Geno Smith to the New York Jets, according to several people familiar with the moves who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deals can’t be finalized until Wednesday.

The biggest move the Raiders made was agreeing to a deal with three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum. He gets a three-year, $81 million contract with $60 million guaranteed to leave Baltimore and join Las Vegas.

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