
The Las Vegas Raiders have had an eventful offseason that includes a failed attempt to trade star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby, and new head coach Klint Kubiak has an interesting way of viewing the situation.
On March 6, the Baltimore Ravens agreed to acquire Crosby in a blockbuster trade that included two first-round draft picks. The deal fell through just four days later due to concerns about Crosby's surgically repaired knee.
While there is still a chance the Raiders could trade Crosby, a recent report suggested Crosby and the team are now on the same page.
Kubiak shared some of his thoughts on the failed Crosby trade with NFL Network's Judy Battista at the NFL Annual League Meeting on Sunday. The first-year head coach said he feels like his team landed a top free agent.
"I think I've seen Maxx almost every day," Kubiak said. "He's in the building every day, he beats a lot of the coaches in there. A really impressive guy. Being a great player is really important to him. You can just tell by the way he shows up. I think John (Spytek) said this, but it's kind of like he never left. I felt like we picked up another free-agent signing once we got him back from Baltimore. Really excited about him leading our defense."
Crosby underwent a procedure in January to repair a torn meniscus. He is not expected to be fully cleared until June or July, but Kubiak said he is confident the All-Pro defender will be back by training camp.
"I know there's gonna be a point in training camp where we're going to get him back," Kubiak told Battista. "I'm not gonna get too much further into that. I think training camp, he'll be back ready to roll. With the way that he works, it wouldn't surprise me if he's ready earlier.
The Raiders signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5M extension a year ago. The relationship between the two sides deteriorated after Crosby was shut down for the season in December against his wishes. Las Vegas was completely out of playoff contention at that point and did not want to risk having Crosby injure his knee further, but Crosby wanted to play.
Then came the trade to the Ravens, which looked like it was going to shake up the AFC. Crosby never left Las Vegas, however, and it is unclear how open the team is to working out another trade.
The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks in 15 games last year. He has 69.5 sacks across seven NFL seasons. It is hardly a surprise that Kubiak is happy to keep his star pass-rusher in the mix for the time being.
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