Why the Ravens’ failed Maxx Crosby trade changed their approach originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One of the biggest storylines of the offseason was the Baltimore Ravens trading for star defensive end Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders, only to put a stop to the deal after he failed his physical. It’s something the league still talks about, and as it turns out, it changed the Ravens’ approach to such deals.
In a piece for The Athletic, Jonathan Jones of the publication says that the team’s failed Crosby deal “helped inform what the Ravens” did when they traded for center Cam Jurgens this week.
In the deal, the Ravens gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick for Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-round pick. Center was a weak spot for the Ravens, and they’ve been dealing with injuries at that position, so they were in need of a quick fix.
Maxx Crosby changed how the Baltimore Ravens do business
How they went about this was largely impacted by the Crosby deal going wrong, Jones added.
“I’m told the Ravens were proactive in getting all the medical information they could on Jurgens as quickly as possible,” he said. “They sent their medical team up the road to Philadelphia before the trade to perform a physical on Jurgens, who had back surgery in 2025 after he suffered an injury during the Super Bowl run two seasons ago.”
He added, “Jurgens passed the physical, though he won’t play Sunday against the Falcons due to a concussion.”
So, it’s interesting to see how the Ravens’ entire trade policy really changed because of that Crosby deal gone wrong. That’s what happens when a miscalculation leaves you with a little piece of egg on your face.