The Ravens remain at the heart of the NFL’s most notable (and controversial) storyline of the offseason. Shortly after backing out of the trade agreement which would have sent Maxx Crosby to Baltimore, the team agreed to terms with free agent Trey Hendrickson. 
GM Eric DeCosta spoke about the matter recently at a press conference. Notably, he said (via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley) the Ravens’ initial plan was to sign Hendrickson while also following through on the Crosby trade. Baltimore’s push to sign the former Bengals sack artist picked up late Tuesday, a point well after the free agent negotiating window opened but before – officially, at least – the Crosby trade fell through.
DeCosta said he was “gutted” about the fact his agreement with Raiders counterpart John Spytek was not finalized. The Ravens were set to send their first-round pick in 2026 and ’27 to Vegas for Crosby, who now remains under contract with Vegas. The All-Pro’s future is once again in question, although he appears to be on course to continue his decorated run with the franchise. Crosby continues to rehab surgery following a meniscus repair; a failed physical led to the trade being called off, though DeCosta did not specifically reference Crosby’s medical testing when reflecting on this high-profile saga.
The timing of this matter proved to be impactful, with Monday marking (as usual) the busiest point on the calendar with respect to free agent deals being agreed to. Vegas in particular was active, with edge rusher Kwity Paye among the players set to be brought in. As Hensley’s colleague Jeremy Fowler notes, Crosby’s Baltimore physical did not take place until Tuesday. Many dominoes had already (unofficially) fallen by then, a sore spot for critics of how this situation has been handled.
While no league rules were broken, the Ravens’ decision to back out of the Crosby deal has led many to expect backlash from other GMs. DeCosta said, however, that his phone has not stopped ringing with the new league year continuing to unfold. It will nevertheless be interesting to see how future dealings with Baltimore take place moving forward.
Sack production was a major issue for Baltimore in 2025, making it no surprise the Crosby trade was worked out in the first place or that a big-ticket Hendrickson deal was signed. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports Baltimore planned on restructuring Crosby’s contract (which runs through 2029 and is based heavily on base salaries) upon arrival. She adds, however, that doing so would have moved him near the top of the pass rush market and thus made a Hendrickson pact difficult to arrange given Baltimore’s cap situation.
Of course, that is now a moot point with Crosby set to continue with the Raiders or be traded to another team. Nonetheless, DeCosta’s remarks are certainly noteworthy in the wake of the criticism he has faced. Whether or not Hendrickson winds up being paired with one of the few low-cost EDGE options still on the market or a high draft choice in April will make for a storyline worth following.
This clown is just trying to save face lol! No way they were planing on both lol. Full of ….
I had the same reaction Larry.
I’ve said before that almost all these “after the fact” articles appear to be attempts at face saving and damage control. I guess the PFR staff have to post these articles but I generally just ignore them.
The only supposed backlash I hear are from reporters and not anyone from any NFL team. Are the Raiders salty this didn’t play out? Sure, but the Ravens aren’t to blame for the Raiders stupidity. The deal wasn’t official, and they went to town on business like it was. If the other NFL teams want to play hardball, well, the Ravens could just respond in kind.
Yeah blame the raiders for taking a team at its word. I’m not saying the raiders are blameless here but how many FA have backed out of deals they agreed to before they could actually sign contracts? How many other trades have been backed out of? Did the ravens live under a rock and not know Crosby had surgery? If there was legit injury concerns I’d bet the raiders would have reworked the deal. It’s just bad all the way around
Two firsts is a massive commitment. If there was any sign of future injury risk, it’s smart to bail. Don’t be emotional.
The NFL needs to make a Ravens Rule where trades can’t be agreed to until after free agency starts. Cold feet shouldn’t be an excuse to back out of a trade
DeCosta knows that he got away with it so he is just taunting us now.
Its like OJ’s book called “If I did it…”
The people who believe this are the same people who believe literally anything they read on the internet. This is 100% BS and he knows it. Baltimore is a scumbag organization
I believe you KC33
This guy was planning on signing both Tyler & Hendrickson and trading for Maxx? 🤔🤔
I’d like him to explain how that would even be financially feasible. I’ll wait.
Ravens had about 60 mill prior to signing Hendrickson. Even if they took on Crosbys contract they could have feasibly afforded Hendrickson too
They freed up 40 mill by restructuring Jackson’s contract and could have created more room by restructuring more contracts. Freeing up that space gave the Ravens the third most cap space in the league.
Not paying Linderbaum 27 mill a year also helped create financial room.
They would have been pretty cap strapped paying both Crosby and Hendrickson but they could have afforded it
Humphrey has also been a cut candidate.
Bullshit
Okay, sure. Believe that as much as I believe Ray wasn’t involved in murder.
Sure, Jan.
Doesn’t matter because it didn’t happen! I don’t understand why articles like this are published. I don’t care about what a team thought about doing or almost did. That doesn’t win any games or make money for that team. Thanks for letting me vent for a minute. LOL
Buddy, you’re on a site with the word rumors right there in the name.
Once a transaction happens, rumors are meaningless.
Dude the site is literally called trade RUMORS not trade transactions. Why even waste your time here.
Hahahaha.. nice try by the ravens PR team to try to save face. Nobody believes that BS..
In the words of the great Ron Burgundy, “I don’t believe you.”
Another piece on, “well people are mad that it played out this way” to the point where they’ve tried to connect dots with 2 other failed physicals.
Ryan Grant failed a physical on the 14th, Michael Crabtree was available the 16th but somehow those were the same.
The Ravens had already traded for Calais Campbell when Michael Brockers had failed his physical but again; trying to connect dots that don’t.
You think Ravens fans didn’t want the trade? You’re dumb. Most people complaining are the ones that clowned it for an overpay and then can’t say it anymore so now it’s a conspiracy
Hendrickson better hurry up and sign his contract before the Ravens change their mind about that, as well.
No one is spending that on Two Edge Rushers
Nice try but we see through the lies
Liar liar pants on fire.
Rrrrrrrright. Sure. 💯
I think they were also going to lure Aaron Donald out of retirement.
LIAR!!!!
There is nothing flimsier than articles about trades a team was going to make but didn’t, players they were going to sign but didn’t or players they were going to draft but didn’t.
Do you really need clicks that badly that you’ll peddle rubbish like that?