Inside the Failed Crosby Trade

Raiders general manager John Spytek joins the Rich Eisen Show and walks through one of the more unusual trade sequences of the offseason. Rich opens by floating the idea that the medical question around a certain knee led to colder feet in Baltimore. Spytek plays it straight. He declines to share an opinion on whether the Ravens backed away because of the physical.

Spytek describes where he was when the information came in. In the office, where owner Mark Davis would expect him to be. He took the information as it came and put a plan together.

The plan produced a real outcome. Maxx Crosby stayed in Las Vegas.

Spytek walks through the moment he broke the news to Davis. It was not dramatic. Spytek says he calmly delivered the update to Davis, the ownership group, and head coach Pete Carroll. Away we go.

Rich pushes for more. The downside of the deal falling apart, he points out, is that you get Maxx Crosby back. That is not a terrible outcome. Spytek agrees but stays stoic about the whole sequence. He says he has gotten better at controlling what he can control and not stressing the rest. He was not always good at that. He is better now.

Rich asks the real question. What would have happened if the Raiders did not have the cap space to accept Crosby back if the deal unraveled? Spytek says that would have presented a different problem. The Raiders were fortunate. They structure their contracts with flexibility so they can add players unexpectedly, whether through cuts or trades. That wiggle room is what made it possible to keep Crosby when the trade fell through.

Rich closes by asking if Crosby is locked in as a Week One Raider in 2026. Spytek confirms. Maxx is healing up. Running around. He has good football ahead of him.

The interview is short, but the subtext tells the story. A failed trade became a blessing in disguise. Spytek does not need to spike the football because the football already spiked itself.