Raiders' Maxx Crosby explains playing through knee injury

Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowl pass-rusher Maxx Crosby explained during Friday's edition of the NFL+ program "The Insiders" why he plans to take the field for Sunday's home game against the 6-6 Minnesota Vikings even though he's dealing with a lingering knee injury. 

"If I'm able and have a heartbeat, I'm going to be out there with my brothers and try to go get a win," Crosby said, per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. 

Crosby played in what became the 31-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 26 that preceded Las Vegas' bye even though he was listed as doubtful for that game. Following the defeat, he revealed he battled through "some infections" and even spent time in the hospital ahead of the Kansas City contest. 

"It was — like I said, it was probably one of the hardest things I've been through," Crosby remarked. "I've been through a lot of hard things in my life. It was definitely up there. It's just a blessing at the end of the day. I look at the positive in everything, so everything happens for a reason. I was able to fight through all the ups and downs of the week — being in the hospital and all those things." 

Crosby estimated he was only "like 60 percent" healthy versus the Chiefs, but that didn't prevent him from tallying a sack in the loss. According to ESPN stats, he enters the weekend tied for sixth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks on the season. 

As of early Friday evening, the ESPN Football Power Index gave the 5-7 Raiders a 0.9% chance to make the playoffs. That's reason enough for Crosby to suit up against Minnesota as long as he's medically cleared. 

"If I can go out there and impact the game any way I can to help my guys, I'm going to do it," Crosby added during the show segment. "I've had these two weeks to get my body right together, refocus and reenergize — I can't wait for this last month. I'm feeling great right now, and I'll be out there practicing. I can't wait to get out there with the guys."

On Friday, oddschecker listed Las Vegas as a 2.5-point underdog against the Vikings. It sounds like Crosby needs no extra motivation for the game knowing the Raiders are essentially facing a must-win situation on Sunday.