Maxx Crosby 'fired up' to still be with Raiders 'exactly where I want to be'
· Yahoo Sports
There were a few days last March where it looked like a foregone conclusion that Maxx Crosby would never suit up for the Raiders again. After a couple months of rumblings that he was unhappy enough with being sat down the final two games of the season to demand a trade, it happened. Crosby was traded to the Ravens.
That happened. The two sides came to terms, Crosby said his goodbyes to the Raiders fans, and he headed for Baltimore to put pen to paper.
Visit betsport.cv for more information.
It all fell apart at the last minute when the Ravens failed him on his physical and pivoted to free agent Trey Hendrickson instead. Perhaps not in that order.
Maxx and his wife were in the Ravens's facility at the time. The Ravens announced they were backing out of the deal and soon the Crosbys were on a plane, headed back to Las Vegas with Maxx still a member of the Raiders.
Since then, Crosby's tune has changed. he seems to have come around from being disgruntled to recommitting and refocusing himself with the only NFL team he has ever known. Now he seems downright happy things worked out the way they did.
"Yeah, I'm fired up," Crosby said Wednesday after OTA practice. "Everyone knows my love and appreciation for this organization, that never changed from day one. It's part of the business, there's a lot of other things that don't need to be discussed, but ultimately, I'm exactly where I want to be. I'm excited."
It was GM John Spytek's decision to sit Crosby for the final two games last season, so that's where the Pro Bowl edge rusher focused his ire. But it was also Spytek who landed the top coaching candidate this cycle as the new head coach, who in turn retained and promoted Rob Leonard -- Crosby's favorite coach -- to the DC job, and then honored Crosby's wishes to seek out a trade for him. And, in the end, Crosby seems to respect how things played out.
"Just being here with this group, we have an extremely smart and great leader of men in Klint Kubiak, a coaching staff that is very detailed and very, I would say, attentive with everything they do," Crosby continued. "They're very intentional with everything that we're trying to accomplish. We're not just going out there checking boxes, we're trying to get things done the right way and establish a foundation so that when the season comes, we're not out there making s--t up. It's just we go out and play football and we have a plan, and this is how we need to execute. So, they've been really good with that."
In the end, he might even have come to some kind of understanding as to the objective at the end of last season, and the resulting decision Spytek made. Crosby's injury was serious enough to keep him off the field throughout OTA's and perhaps until training camp. And the result of the Raiders losing Week 17 against the Giants was landing the number one pick which is the only way they were able to draft their new franchise quarterback.
With Fernando Mendoza in the house and the losing season it took to get him well in the rear view, Crosby has reason for hope of a turnaround.
"Fernando has been awesome. He's a great kid. He has great work ethic," Crosby said of his team's young QB.
"He's an awesome kid. Everyone knows his ability, what they've seen, especially this past season at Indiana. It couldn't have been a greater year for an individual player at a college level; winning the Heisman, winning the Natty [National Championship], not losing a game, having a game-winning touchdown in the national championship. Like, he checked every single box and then some."
Mendoza has talked about how he comes in at the bottom of the totem pole, despite his top pick status. Crosby respects that mindset, probably because he recognizes the fight it took for him to prove himself as a fourth round pick out of Eastern Michigan.
He even had Mendoza and some of the other young guys over to his house recently, where there was some bonding that happened on the basketball court.
"Fernando was unfortunately behind me in a game of H.O.R.S.E., and I destroyed him," Crosby said with laugh. "I got him out of there quick. So, he's got to work on the jump shot, but ultimately he's a competitor and he's learning and getting better every single day. So, I'm really excited for what he's going to bring to this team, and you can already feel just his energy on a daily basis has been extremely consistent."
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Maxx Crosby 'fired up' to still be with Raiders 'exactly where I want to be'