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Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby continues to be a top defensive player, but he hasn’t made an All-Pro team in each of the last two seasons, and both years ended with injury.

It doesn’t help that the teams around him have played very poorly. Despite that, the Baltimore Ravens were willing to part with two first-round picks to trade for him this offseason before backing out due to a failed physical.

Right now, the $35.5 million a year the Raiders are paying him a year ranks seventh in the NFL. That’s not bad for a player that many consider to be one of the best all-around defensive ends in the game.

However, not everybody is on board with that idea. Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report ranked the 10-worst contracts in the NFL and had Crosby ranked eighth.

“After putting up a combined 27 sacks in 2022 and 2023, the seven-year veteran has failed to top 10 sacks in either of the last two seasons. He’ll turn 29 this summer, and a continued decline is inevitable,” Gagnon wrote.

Gagnon even believes that the reason the Raiders agreed to trade was because of the bad contract.

“The Raiders are pretty much stuck paying him more than $65 million over the course of the next two years. They tried trading him this offseason for a reason,” Gagnon wrote.

This Criticism Makes Little Sense

Gragnon’s criticism of Crosby’s contract is bizarre, to say the least. First of all, Raiders general manager John Spytek gave Crosby a new contract just a year ago. Why would they be so eager to get him off the books after they just gave him a contract?

There has been no evidence that the Raiders were eager to trade him. They moved him because they are in a rebuild, and he wanted to be dealt. Had he never requested a trade, it’s likely the Raiders wouldn’t have considered moving him.

Also, Crosby isn’t in his mid-30s. The Los Angeles Rams just gave up a haul to acquire Myles Garrett, who is older and making more money than Crosby. He’s not on the list of bad contracts. Yes, he’s a better player than Crosby, but it’s not a huge gap.

The Raiders should actually be thrilled about Crosby’s contract. They have arguably a top-five defensive end at a decent number through the 2029 season.

Crosby Nearing the End of His Rehab

Crosby had to end his season early last year due to a torn meniscus. That was the most serious injury of his career and has kept him off the practice field for a long time.

He’s getting some light work in, but is very eager to get back to full strength.

“This has been a long road to recovery,” Crosby told reporters recently. “It’s probably the longest rehab I’ve been through, but ultimately it’s been the best by far and we’re not even to the finish line. … I’m real close, but I’m at that point where I forget. I need to relax a little bit. That’s kind of been the biggest battle right now because I’m almost back to being out there.”