HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders said Baltimore has backed out of the trade that was supposed to send star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens for two first-round draft picks.
The deal was agreed to last Friday but couldn’t be finalized until the start of the league year on Wednesday. The Raiders announced Tuesday evening that Baltimore backed out of the deal. The team said it had no further comment.
Crosby underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and would have needed to pass a physical for the deal to be finalized. He missed the final two games of the season because the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time.
Crosby said on a recent appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” that he was “ahead of schedule” in his rehab.
The addition of Crosby was supposed to be the piece to help lift the Ravens over the top, with the draft picks expected to be part of a rebuilding effort for the Raiders.
The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss last season, and has reached double- digit sacks four times in his seven seasons.
Baltimore, which has a first-year coach in Jesse Minter, is in a win-now mode with three-time All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson. Crosby would have been a significant boost for a defense that finished tied for 28th in the league in sacks with only 30 last season.
Elsewhere Tuesday as the league’s teams continued to make moves, quarterback Geno Smith is returning to where his career started after the New York Jets acquired him in a trade with Las Vegas, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.
The Raiders could have been in position to release Smith, their starter for a 3-14 team last season, with the expectation that they will make Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 pick out of Indiana in the draft next month.
A person with knowledge of the deal said Detroit reached an agreement on the second day of free agency to add running back Isiah Pacheco as a replacement for David Montgomery after the Lions traded Jahmyr Gibbs’ backup last week, before the negotiating window opened.
All the people are speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because transactions can’t become official until Wednesday, the first day of the NFL’s new league year.
Pacheco spent his first four seasons in the running back rotation with the Kansas City Chiefs, who agreed to a $45 million, three-year deal with Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in the opening hours of free agency.
Pacheco rushed for 2,537 yards and 14 touchdowns over four seasons with the Chiefs, helping them win two Super Bowls.
The Chiefs also agreed to a $24.5 million, three-year deal with former Baltimore safety Alohi Gilman and an $11 million, two-year contract with receiver Tyquan Thornton, who emerged as perhaps their best deep threat during a 6-11 season that ended a 10-year playoff streak.
Gilman fills a big need in Kansas City’s depleted defensive backfield. Safety Bryan Cook is headed to Cincinnati, the Chiefs traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams and fellow cornerbacks Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams are signing elsewhere.
The Green Bay Packers are doing some shuffling at cornerback by adding Benjamin St-Juste while informing Nate Hobbs of a plan to release him a year after signing him to the $48 million, four-year contract, according to two people with knowledge of the decisions. St-Juste is getting a $10.5 million, two-year deal.
The Packers are keeping offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, who agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $3.75 million after starting four games last season.
St-Juste was on the field for about 35% of the Chargers’ defensive plays last season and also was a key special teams contributor during his lone year in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old has two interceptions over five seasons, the first four in Washington for the 2021 third-round draft pick.
Pittsburgh agreed with running back Rico Dowdle on a $12.25 million, two-year deal in what will be a reunion with new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy. They were together in Dallas, where Dowdle became the first undrafted Cowboys running back to rush for 1,000 yards in McCarthy’s final season in 2024.
The Steelers are waiting on what would be a much more significant reunion for McCarthy. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t said whether he plans to return for a 22nd season, and second in Pittsburgh. The 42-year-old was with McCarthy for 12-plus seasons in Green Bay, and they won a Super Bowl during the 2010 season.
New England picked up one of the top available receivers in Romeo Doubs, agreeing with the former Green Bay player on a $70 million, four-year contract. The defending AFC champions also added guard Alijah Vera-Tucker on a $42 million, three-year deal.
