Mike Preston: Ravens' Maxx Crosby embarrassment will linger

Mike Preston, The Baltimore Sun on Mar 10, 2026

Published in Football

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BALTIMORE — The date was March 18, 1997, and the Baltimore Ravens made a bold announcement. They had agreed to a four-year deal with Dallas Cowboys safety Brock Marion, a move that was expected to bolster the defense.

Two days later, after a CT scan in Baltimore revealed that Marion’s left scapula had not fully healed, then-owner Art Modell walked into a packed news conference at the old Ravens training facility to announce that the deal was void. Modell looked so miserable, upset and downright embarrassed, because this was supposed to be an announcement that Marion was a Raven.

It turned out to be the most embarrassing moment in team history.

Well, not anymore.

The Las Vegas Raiders announced Tuesday night that the Ravens had backed out of a deal for star defensive end Maxx Crosby and declined to comment further. The good news is that the Ravens get back their first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027.

But this is a direct slap in the face. It will take a long time before the Ravens and general manager Eric DeCosta get over the humiliation.

Two days into free agency and one day before the official start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, the Ravens have already lost eight players, including center Tyler Linderbaum, two No. 2 tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, a starting safety in Alohi Gilman, a starting cornerback in Chidobe Awuzie, a No. 3 safety in Ar’Darius Washington, the top fullback in Patrick Ricard and one of the league’s best punters in Jordan Stout.

Do I need to say more?

Plus, they failed to get a big, bona fide receiver on the outside to complement tiny slot receiver Zay Flowers because Alec Pierce is reportedly re-signing with the Indianapolis Colts and Mike Evans is joining the San Francisco 49ers.

Oh my.

Somewhere, new coach Jesse Minter has to keep wondering if this franchise is jinxed, and what the heck is going on? Meanwhile, former Ravens coach John Harbaugh has to be laughing somewhere because he has signed several of the team’s free agents with the Giants in Likely, Washington, Ricard and Stout.

It’s not unusual for a former coach to sign several of his old players because of the familiarity, but this is starting to become ridiculous and downright embarrassing.

Worse yet, the Ravens still haven’t come to terms on a new deal for star quarterback and two time Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, who carries a prohibitive salary-cap hit of $74.5 million each of the next two seasons. I bet he might be having some second thoughts, too. I would. The Ravens are teetering on the rebuild mode.

Maybe they’ll make an announcement on Jackson soon. They need something positive, because this is like Pig-Pen in the Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip, Peanuts. Right now, there is a cloud of dust and a stench following the Ravens.

Crosby reportedly failed his physical with Baltimore, which surely knew about his injury history before agreeing to the deal. Crosby was placed on injured reserve with two games remaining in 2025 and underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He didn’t miss a game through his first five seasons, but that streak came to an end when persistent ankle issues forced him to get surgery in December 2024.

There was a buzz about the Crosby trade. The Ravens were giving up their top draft picks in 2026 and 2027, but if they made the playoffs this season, that 2027 pick would have been late in the first round.

That’s doable.

Plus, in seven seasons, Crosby had 69 1/2 sacks, including 10 last year. He was going to join defensive ends Michael McCrary and Rob Burnett and outside linebackers Peter Boulware and Terrell Suggs as the top pass rushers in Ravens history. Last year, the Ravens had only 30 sacks.

This year, they had Crosby.

The terms of the contract he signed last March, a three-year agreement worth $106.5 million, was no big deal. He was going to be the defense’s version of Jackson.

Now, that’s over. It’s all done. Poof. Gone.

Sometimes, there is a belief that maybe DeCosta was getting criticized too much for giving up two first-round picks for Crosby. The Cowboys reportedly offered a first- and second-round pick for Crosby, but the Raiders wanted more.

DeCosta wanted Crosby. He needed him — so much, in fact, that Crosby was already starting to mesh with Ravens fans. That dream had faded, too.

I still remember that look on Modell’s face when he had to tell the media that there was no deal with Marion. It pained him as if he was having severe indigestion. Only the embarrassment was greater.

Now, almost 30 years later, the Ravens can’t escape that time.

Today, they have no offensive line, no pass rush, a quarterback who can’t decide if he is in or out, and now the most embarrassing episode in team history.

It can’t get much worse at this moment.

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