Klint Kubiak reflects on failed Ravens trade, having Maxx Crosby back with Raiders

First-year Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak endured an interesting first couple of months on the job, as he thought he'd be losing pass-rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for two first-round draft picks. 

However, the Ravens later backed out of that agreement due to alleged concerns about a "degenerative issue" in Crosby's knee related to the meniscus surgery he needed this past January. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Kubiak reflected on the trade that wasn't and on having Crosby back as one of his players. 

Klint Kubiak: Raiders are "better" with Maxx Crosby

"You get experience, you go through battles and when things like that come up, you’re ready for them because that’s part of the job," Kubiak explained, per Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. "That’s what makes the job fun. It’s never the same day. It’s always different. Going back to Maxx, we lost him, we got him back, our team’s better. Hell yeah."

Reports have detailed how both Kubiak and general manager John Spytek "reached out to Crosby and showed that they had his back" after the trade with Baltimore fell through. Those conversations seemingly resulted in Crosby wanting to stay with the team that drafted him back in 2019. 

"Once it happened, I was really excited," Kubiak said about his reaction to the Ravens voiding the trade. "Once (Spytek) came and talked to me about it, we sat down, and my first thing was a smile, like, 'Great, we got Maxx back. You kidding me? That’s great. You got anything else you want to talk about? Alright.' Our team just got better." 

How Klint Kubiak expects Maxx Crosby to respond to failed trade

Earlier in the week, Spytek said that he is confident Crosby will "be ready to rock by training camp to play a bunch of good football for many years to come." Kubiak suggested that he plans to coach Crosby for more than just a handful of games this fall. 

"Maxx is the best player on our defense," Kubiak added during his comments. "He’s going to be a leader on our team and a guy we’re counting on to win a lot of games with moving forward."

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones may revisit trying to trade for Crosby this coming fall, but it sounds like Kubiak expects the 28-year-old to continue calling Vegas home for the foreseeable future.