Before the Rams blew up the offseason for Myles Garrett, they were kicking the tires on a different superstar edge rusher.
Tom Pelissero reported in his Week 1 notebook that Los Angeles “called and kept tabs on” Maxx Crosby during the spring. The Raiders star was in a strange spot at the time, and the Rams noticed.
Crosby had already been traded once. Las Vegas sent him to Baltimore for two first-round picks, a haul that made sense for both sides right up until it didn’t. The Ravens backed out in March over concerns about the knee Crosby had surgically repaired in January, and he went right back to being a Raider.
Why Los Angeles was circling
A player of Crosby’s caliber almost never becomes available, and when a deal falls apart on medical grounds, the price on that player drops immediately. Teams with cap flexibility and a willingness to gamble start dialing. The Rams did exactly that.
They did not get him, obviously. Instead Los Angeles went bigger, acquiring Garrett from Cleveland on June 1 for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-rounder, a 2028 second and a 2029 third. Then Aaron Donald came out of retirement and signed a one-year deal to pair with Garrett on that same defensive line.
So the Rams turned a failed Crosby pursuit into the most terrifying front in the league. That is a good spring.
The medical question is the whole story
Here is what makes the Crosby part interesting. Baltimore had a signed deal in hand and walked away after their doctors looked at the knee. That is not a small thing. Teams do not torch a trade for two first-round picks unless the medical staff is waving both arms.
Los Angeles clearly did its own homework and reached its own conclusion, whatever that was. They chose Garrett, who is older than Crosby but came without a red flag attached to a January surgery.
You can argue that was the smart call. Garrett is a defensive player of the year winner who has never had durability questions. Crosby plays with more effort than almost anyone alive, which is exactly why his body has taken the beating it has.
Crosby is still a Raider, and that will not stop
The reason this report matters in September rather than being an offseason footnote is simple. Las Vegas is not built to contend, Crosby is 29 with a massive contract, and a team already tried to trade him once this year.
That combination does not resolve itself quietly. If the Raiders start slow and Crosby proves the knee is fine over a handful of games, the trade deadline conversation restarts on its own. Contenders who lose an edge rusher to injury in October will be the first ones calling.
The Rams technically no longer need him. But this front office has demonstrated something close to zero hesitation about pushing chips in, and Les Snead has never once looked at a draft pick as sacred.
My read
Crosby gets moved before he ever plays another meaningful January game in Las Vegas. The Ravens deal failing was a delay, not a cancellation.
And the Rams choosing Garrett over him looks like the correct process even if Crosby stays healthy all year. When you are going all in, you take the player without the asterisk on his physical.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
