Ravens GM gives reasoning for backing out of Maxx Crosby trade

Thanks for coming out on short notice. I know you have *** lot of questions about, uh, free agency and what's transpired over the last 4 days. I'm gonna do my best to be as transparent as possible. There will be some things that I probably can't talk about um for different reasons uh regarding the process and I hope you understand that. So, uh, questions? What can you tell us about why the Max Crosby trade did not So the first thing I would say, Jamison, is we were down in Florida last week, um, had *** chance to meet with Steve for about, uh, 36 hours maybe, and spent *** lot of time talking about different ways to improve our team. Um, free agency, re-signing guys, trades, all kinds of the draft, all kinds of stuff. Um. We were really excited about adding Max, potentially adding Max to our team. Um, I had already begun discussions, um, with John Spytek. Uh, those discussions continued. Um, we were really thinking that we were getting some traction, um. We did. Uh, I would say as part of the normal sort of trade process. I mean it's, there's *** lot of different parts involved with the trade process. We've done *** lot of different trades and one of the key things is that, you know, you bring the player in, you try to get as much information as you can, um, we did that and we were not able to. Complete the process of acquiring the player based on, you know, our assessment of the situation, um, very, very, I think, disappointing. Um, I know our fans are upset, devastated. I understand that, um, tough, tough situation. But I think for the Ravens, the right situation. And, uh, my role as GM and, and Jesse's role as head coach and Sashi's role as president, stewards of the organization, um, and we have to make tough calls and, uh, and this was certainly *** tough call to make. Eric, how much of sort of making that tough call was aided by the fact that you knew. It really wasn't, um, so I think the two are kind of mutually exclusive. Um, we were very focused on Max. *** lot of attention given to that particular acquisition. As I said, *** player that I think really fits us and his skill set. We've played against him. I really admire him in many different ways. You know, I think for us, uh, it's gonna be probably our, our, our, our biggest foundational acquisition this year, um. So I, I didn't, I didn't really look at him as like, oh, you know, we'll do this because of that. It was really more, how do we get better as *** football team. Um, in terms of, uh, Trey, I think we came to *** point, um, probably after we lost Tyler, where as we're trying to find the best way for us to get better as *** football team, um. Trey kind of made *** lot of sense as ***, as *** possible guy to look at, um. So we started some discussions with, with he and his agent. Um, thinking that, you know, potentially we'd have two pass rushers on the defensive line on both sides of the line. Um, Again, I think it was disappointing, you know, to us and probably in *** way, you know, potentially disappointing probably to Trey as well. Eric, you said you were interested in having two pass rushers on that side of the line. Are you referring to both Max and Trey Henderson? Yeah, so we had started discussions with, with both players. Um, we'd already agreed to potentially the trade with the, with the Raiders, but we had, uh, You know, We were trying to sign, uh, Tyler, obviously, uh, we weren't able to get that done. Looking at the best ways for us to improve our football team at some point, we just said, you know what, this might be *** guy that really fits us, and we've played against him twice *** year for the last many years, 4 or 5 years, um, and thought, hey, maybe this is *** way for us to get better as *** football team. So that was definitely *** possibility for us. Not to say that it would have happened, but definitely something that we had contemplated and discussed with Trey. What's that conversation like with the Raiders in *** span of just over 72 hours after agreeing to certain terms? Obviously you guys have never addressed that, you know, officially, and then having *** conversation with them saying that you were not going to. So it wasn't just one conversation. Uh, it was conversations that took place probably over *** full day span. Um, I should say that I've got *** lot of respect for, um, Mark Davis, the Raiders, um, John Spytek, um, Shoot, Al Davis was born in Brockton, Mass. I've always admired that. I'm from Massachusetts right down the street, so I love the Raiders. They've been one of my favorite teams and, um. It's tough. It's challenging. It was devastating for me to have that conversation. I'm sure challenging for them to hear as well. Um, it's also very, very, very, very hard for the player to have that, to hear that as well. Um. And it's probably hardest for him more than anybody else. Some people Question and say, you know, you guys maybe got cold feet whether it's self impeded in like medically or, or whatever the reasons, um, what do you kind of say to that, to that sort of speculation? I mean, I understand it, you know, I understand it. We live in that age of skepticism and people question, especially, uh, people that don't really know me or know the Ravens culture and the Ravens organization. So I understand it. Um, as I said at the beginning, we've got *** responsibility. I've got *** responsibility to the Ravens, to this community, to our fans, and to Steve Bisciotti to do what we think is best for the club. And, uh, that's what we always try to do. Every decision we make is, is based on this idea. Is this the best thing for the Ravens? It's very, very challenging, um. Again, I understand how people might maybe from afar would feel that way, but, um, nobody's more upset about this than me, um, gutted by it actually. And so, um, *** regret, *** big regret for me, um, but we will move on as ***, as *** football team, and I think there's many, many opportunities for us to, to grow as *** team, to become *** better team, to build *** roster. And to be the team that we wanna be. Are you able to restructure Lamar's to create some catfish for this? I know you don't want to discuss the particulars, but do you feel you're closer now to an extension, or is that just, all right, we'll kick that down. Yeah, so, um, you know, we kind of ran out of time and we're able to, uh, free up, I think, just under 40 million this year, um, added the void year to 2030, I believe, um, certainly hopeful that we'll get an extension done. I think it's important to both parties, um, but we remain to see what's, uh, gonna take place in the future. Does it make it more difficult now that you took this step of *** restructure, or no, it doesn't really change the dynamic. I don't think it really changes the dynamic very much. Eric if you saw. Be working out, um, just curious, one, I know you're probably tired of us asking about it, but any update there and how much does that play into the calculus of the max and the fair stuff? Yeah, I saw the video. It was, it was cool to see. Um, didn't really play into the calculus at all. Um, I think that's *** book that hasn't been written yet, so we'll see what happens with that. You talked about losing Tyler when the bombs to the Raiders. What does that look like now going forward, maybe the rest of free agency, obviously targeting that sort of position in the draft, looking at *** rookie again like you did with Tyler or maybe starting. Well, I'm super excited. I know you guys haven't had *** chance to meet with Dwayne Ledford yet, our offensive line coach. Super, super excited, um, to work with him. Um, just, I would say if you do interview him, just don't wear *** lot of pads, extra padding anywhere because he's not going to like that because he's really, he doesn't like *** lot of back pads or like elbow pads and things like that. So, um, but he's *** great coach and, uh, he's super excited. I think he's done *** masterful job. If you look at some of the guys he's had in Atlanta, how he's developed players, I think, um, it's one of the things that I probably admire most about his coaching style is his ability to take these younger guys and make them really, really good. So, I think we've got *** good plan. Um, we've got *** bunch of draft picks this year, 11 draft picks this year. I think we're going to probably have *** whole bunch of draft picks next year. We will be looking at some free agents as well. We'll probably bring *** couple of guys in the next couple of weeks. Uh, but I have *** lot of confidence in Coach Ledford and our offensive staff to develop guys. And I'm confident we've done it before. I think we have *** pretty good history of drafting centers. I could go back and probably give you 4 or 5 guys that we've drafted over the years that have ended up being some of the very best centers in the league. So I'm confident we can do that. Eric, obviously with the trade not happening, you get your first round picks back, is the plan to kind of still prepare for the draft as if you have those picks, or are you kind of open to still making other deals? Uh, well, right now we have those picks, right? So, um, You know, I had kind of taken ***, ***, *** Sharpie and Xed out about 25 players on my list that we weren't going to have *** chance to select and I have to make *** new list and have those players back on the list. Uh, but we'll be ready for anything. Obviously, if there's *** player that we think we can acquire that's worth *** first-round pick, then we'll do it. Um, but I think, uh, the reality is there's many, many different ways for us to get better as *** football team, whether it's free agency, the draft, undrafted free agency, trades, there's *** lot of things we can do. I think we're headed in the right direction. I think we probably maybe signed today alone, maybe 4 or 5 guys, and, um. It's fun, you know, I think our, our scouts and coaches have done *** great job adding players. And it's gonna be *** whole bunch of different guys. You have some expensive guys, you'll have some cheap guys, right? But they all end up working together as *** team. And some of our best signings, I think every single year, the guys that you get for the minimum salary, right? Um, last year we were able to get, uh, Chito O Uzier really cheap. We just signed him back again today. Excited about that. He did *** hell of *** job for us last year. Fired up to get him back. And, uh, so I think the, the hunt goes on. And we are super excited about this team, where we're headed. *** lot of opportunities today, tomorrow, this coming weekend. Um, promise not to too many signings this weekend so you guys don't have to write too many articles. Um, I'm probably not gonna be here this weekend, so there's *** good chance we won't be signing anybody. Um, but, uh, don't quote me on that. Eric, I, I, I know you try to keep things in-house with Lamar, but can you at least indicate whether there was, before the restructuring, was there any progress made at the time before that? I mean, Jamie, you know, you know, I've said this *** million times. Lamar and I we're not gonna talk about like the negotiation aspect of our relationship, um, so, uh, I'm gonna stand by that. Has it been going back to the way things kind of unfolded, you know, it looks like you're getting in an accident, but then it doesn't happen and, and so forth, and again, the speculation. Do, do you have any Concern or how do you view that that any concern may be impacting the business with other teams, other players, other relationships, whatever kind of impact it might have. Yeah. Well, it hasn't stopped my phone from ringing. I'll tell you that. Um, I think our relationship with, with agents and with other teams is really, really good. I understand the question. Um, I think that GMs understand the importance of getting as much information as possible before making decisions and I would say that most agents would say that. Uh, myself, George, Nick, Mark Acevedo, Ozzie, Sashi, everybody that works with agents would say that we're *** class organization that does business the right way, respectful, and, uh, willing to get deals done. Derek, I know you've had some, have had, make some tough conversations with players over the years. Uh, what was it like with, with Max when you had to inform him that you guys were gonna have to move on? Yeah, you know. Like you said, you, in this business, you have *** lot of tough conversations, right? It was tough. Um. It's *** guy that I really admire as *** player. I mean, you've all watched him play, so you all know what he's like as *** player, right? It's *** guy that plays like *** raven, you know. Um, so, yeah, it's, it's challenging. You get emotionally attached, um. That's what I would say. Eric, um, you, you said you were gutted by this. Is there anything you regret that you did or did not do as part of this process that could have changed the results, uh, you know, the end results here? You know, I think I'm hard on myself and you think you question everything you do, you know, in this business. You're never perfect, right, with the draft and with free agency. I think in this particular instance, I'm really proud of the team and the doctors and, you know, the guys that work with me and I just, this is *** tough thing that we have to deal with in this business, um. I, I don't really know what we could do differently, um, than what we did. So, again, it's *** really, really, really tough call. Um. You know, there were moments yesterday when, honestly, I was probably speechless, just sitting in my chair in my office and just thinking about what the next step would be and trying to get as much information as possible and it, it wasn't, you know, I should say it wasn't just, you know, in *** situation like this, you try to get as much information as you can from as many different sources as you can, um. And it just didn't work out. So, um, yeah, tough, very, very challenging. We've dealt with these kinds of things in the past, but probably never at such ***, uh, *** large, uh, *** large figure. So challenging. Did you try to renegotiate at all the terms of it? You know, I think at some point you get to the point where, you know. When you look at the situation, you just, you have to make the right decision. You know, it's not always about, you know, the value, it's just what is the right decision for the club at the time. And that's *** hard thing to do, but as I said, when you're *** steward of the organization and you're put in that position, you've got to make the tough call. Ericca, sorry if you were asked this right at the top. Um, do you think if you had gotten the fuller picture by, like, let's say Sunday, as opposed to when you got it, and like, would that have materially changed the conference Cs here and these these pushches of free agency? You know, we try to value every single player, you know. And I think, I, I mean, I understand the question, Jonas. I think it's just like you, you, you, you spend *** lot of time saying, this is what this player is, this is who he is, this is how he plays, this is what he's worth. And we try not to deviate from that. And so I think that would it have allowed us to spend more money on players, maybe, but would we have done it? Probably not. You know, you have *** threshold that you get to that you want to get to and. Typically we try to be fairly responsible when it comes to that, and we have to make tough calls. Um, and so I can't say that it would have changed that much. I understand these things do kind of, you know, have repercussions and I get that it's challenging, you know, for these other teams, maybe there are other teams affected by this as well. Uh, for us specifically, this was something that we felt would give us the chance to build *** team. The way we wanted to build the team, it just, it just didn't, it didn't work out for us. Here we go 2 more going, going back to, going back to Linderbaum for, for *** minute. Did you feel like you guys were in competitive in that situation right up until the end, or did you sort of feel the market maybe get away from you *** little bit at some point, or what was your sense of that? You know, I just, I'll just quickly make, put it in perspective. So when I was *** young man and I was living down in Fed Hill, and, uh, I was gonna buy *** home on, uh, Hamburg Street. So I had all the money I had, which wasn't *** lot of money. I was *** young scout, and I put an offer on the house. It was everything I had. The guy called me back and said, Hey, we got *** cash offer, so you got to give us *** little bit of more money. So I did. And then I'm like, Man, I have nothing left. Then he came back again. He said, I need your final offer, your best offer. And I said, I already gave it to you, right? And it just was like I was never going to get that house because the other people had more money to spend on the house. That's kind of how I felt. Does that make sense? I mean, have you taken anything? side. Fell apart. You know what, I, I tell you, as I said, I, I got *** lot of respect. I, I have so much respect for, um, the Raiders organization, John Spytek, you know, I've known John *** long time and admired the way his career has gone, the Davis family. Um, I just, I just have always loved the Raiders and, uh, his, you know, Max's agents, Doug Henderson, Cliff LaBoy, uh, CJ, they're, they're two of the best guys out there, those guys. Um, and this has affected *** lot of people and it saddens me that the deal didn't go through. Um, It's just, unfortunately, the one of the aspects of this business that is challenging. Uh, it's, it's not, there's different ways that things can fall through. Um, and, you know, I, I, I feel equally sad that we lost Tyler. I feel equally sad that Isaiah is not playing here anymore, right? I, I hate to see Jordan Stout go play for somebody else. And those are all tough things. I mean, we all kind of say, oh, we got paid, he got this, he got that. I love those guys. I love those guys. I love our team. I love our players. I'm proud of them. I'm proud of the fact that, you know, everybody spends money on our players, but it's tough. So you kind of lose on both ends, right? You you maybe you lose out on *** Max Crosby, and that's gut-wrenching, but it's hard to lose *** guy like Tyler or Isaiah or, you know, *** bunch of other guys that you get attached to and you watch them grow and become some of the better players in the league, and I'm proud of that. You know, I'll tell those guys there'll always be raven in my eyes. They'll always be *** part of the culture and the fabric of this place, but when they leave, it's tough. So, um, that's what I would say on that. Thanks guys. Yeah

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Ravens GM Eric DeCosta provides reasoning behind team's decision to back out of Maxx Crosby trade

The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade, the Raiders announced.A statement posted by the Raiders reads: "The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We'll have no further comment at this time."Speaking on Wednesday, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said they were excited about the prospect of adding Crosby."We were really thinking we were getting some traction. We did. As part of the normal trade process, there's a lot of different parts to the trade process," DeCosta said.DeCosta said they couldn't complete the process of acquiring Crosby."I know our fans are upset, devastated. I understand that," DeCosta said.He reiterated that they believe the "tough call" was the right one.DeCosta said the Crosby trade decision was mutually exclusive to the team's Wednesday morning signing of Trey Hendrickson.The team had even discussed the possibility of having Crosby and Hendrickson on the defensive line, DeCosta said.DeCosta said he understands the skepticism from NFL fans surrounding the circumstances of the called-off trade."It was tough. A guy I really admire as a player... a guy that plays like a Raven. It's challenging. You get emotionally attached," DeCosta said about his conversation with Crosby after the deal was called off. The announcement comes just days after ESPN reported the Ravens agreed to deal two first-round picks for the star defensive end.NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo said the trade was called off because of a medical reason. Crosby played through a knee injury across part of last season.The trade was not official, as moves are not official until the start of the league year on Wednesday.The Cowboys were rumored to be in the mix for Crosby, 28, before the Ravens traded for him on Friday.The Ravens will retain first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 that they had reportedly agreed to trade.Crosby posted a video of M&T Bank Stadium on his Instagram story earlier on Tuesday. In a statement on X late Wednesday, Crosby's agent C.J. Laboy said: "Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr Neal El Attrache. Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program & will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past 7 seasons."This is a developing report.

The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade, the Raiders announced.

A statement posted by the Raiders reads: "The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby. We'll have no further comment at this time."

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Speaking on Wednesday, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said they were excited about the prospect of adding Crosby.

"We were really thinking we were getting some traction. We did. As part of the normal trade process, there's a lot of different parts to the trade process," DeCosta said.

DeCosta said they couldn't complete the process of acquiring Crosby.

"I know our fans are upset, devastated. I understand that," DeCosta said.

He reiterated that they believe the "tough call" was the right one.

DeCosta said the Crosby trade decision was mutually exclusive to the team's Wednesday morning signing of Trey Hendrickson.

The team had even discussed the possibility of having Crosby and Hendrickson on the defensive line, DeCosta said.

DeCosta said he understands the skepticism from NFL fans surrounding the circumstances of the called-off trade.

"It was tough. A guy I really admire as a player... a guy that plays like a Raven. It's challenging. You get emotionally attached," DeCosta said about his conversation with Crosby after the deal was called off.

The announcement comes just days after ESPN reported the Ravens agreed to deal two first-round picks for the star defensive end.

NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo said the trade was called off because of a medical reason. Crosby played through a knee injury across part of last season.

The trade was not official, as moves are not official until the start of the league year on Wednesday.

The Cowboys were rumored to be in the mix for Crosby, 28, before the Ravens traded for him on Friday.

The Ravens will retain first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 that they had reportedly agreed to trade.

Crosby posted a video of M&T Bank Stadium on his Instagram story earlier on Tuesday.

In a statement on X late Wednesday, Crosby's agent C.J. Laboy said: "Maxx continues to be on track in his recovery and if anything is ahead of schedule according to his surgeon Dr Neal El Attrache. Maxx remains on track to return during the offseason program & will undoubtedly return as the dominant game wrecker he has been these past 7 seasons."

This is a developing report.

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