Considering all that has been said and written about the situation, one couldn’t be blamed for feeling as if it was an entire offseason ago that the Baltimore Ravens
backed out of their agreement to send two first-round draft picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby in March.
This was due to supposed concerns related to the meniscus repair Crosby needed following the 2025 campaign. During a recent appearance on the “Locked on Raiders” program, former All-Pro offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy shared a warning for the NFL regarding how Crosby will play this coming fall.
Is Maxx Crosby headed toward an award-winning season?
“I expect Maxx Crosby to be the Defensive Player of the Year this year,” Kennedy said, per Josh Liles of the Raiders Beat website. “I think he’s going to follow a very similar suit like Myles Garrett. I’m not going to say he’s going to go out there and get the record, but I sense that Maxx is playing with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.”
Kennedy was referencing how Garrett set a new official single-season record for sacks (23) in Week 18 of the 2025 campaign. Meanwhile, Kennedy isn’t alone in thinking that Crosby will be “more motivated now than ever” after the Ravens believed back in March that he wouldn’t be worth the value of what they had been willing to offer the Raiders for his services.
Will Maxx Crosby be on a “play count” at start of season?
During the latest edition of his podcast, Crosby acknowledged that he will “be slightly limited in the beginning” of training camp. Veteran Raiders players are due to report to camp on July 28.
“I also think there’s going to be somewhat of a play count this season,” Kennedy added about Crosby. “They’re going to limit his plays, and that makes total sense to me. He’s getting up there in age (28), knowing that he’s had a recent knee injury. You know the teams are going to salivate when he’s in there. There are going to be guys, whether it’s tight ends or tackles. Everybody’s going to try to cut that knee. They’re going to try to go for that knee to test it out.”
It remains to be seen how the Miami Dolphins will “test” Crosby’s knee when they play at the Raiders in Week 1 on Sept. 13. How he passes such tests may determine whether or not Las Vegas notches more wins than some expect as of the second half of July.
