Ravens deal for the Mighty Maxx and instantly become Super Bowl favorites

The impact of the Maxx Crosby trade will be felt over years but the first reactions of Luke Jones and Nestor are succinct: this is the biggest trade in franchise history and very against many of the principles of the Baltimore Ravens. Here’s why it makes sense for Eric DeCosta – and Lamar Jackson!

The Baltimore Ravens made a historic trade, acquiring Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for two first-round picks. This is the biggest trade in franchise history, involving the 14th overall pick. Crosby, a five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher, is seen as a game-changer who could elevate the Ravens’ defense. The trade is seen as a bold move to maximize Lamar Jackson’s prime years, with the team aiming for a Super Bowl within the next three years. Crosby’s extensive playing time and high-impact stats suggest he will significantly bolster the Ravens’ pass rush and overall defensive capabilities.

Max Crosby Trade Announcement and Initial Reactions

• Unknown Speaker introduces the show, mentioning various sponsors and the Maryland crab cake tour.
• Discussion about Lamar Jackson’s cryptic tweet and the assumption that it relates to his contract extension.
• The trade for Max Crosby is described as the biggest in franchise history, involving two first-round picks.
• The speakers reflect on the historical significance of the trade, comparing it to past trades and player acquisitions.

Historical Context and Risk of the Trade

• The speakers discuss the value of the 14th overall pick in the context of past drafts and notable players selected.
• Emphasis on the risk involved in trading two first-round picks for a player, especially considering the franchise’s history.
• The trade is framed as a “Super Bowl or bust” strategy, focusing on the next three years.
• Discussion on the defensive needs of the team and how Max Crosby addresses those needs, particularly in crunch time.

Max Crosby’s Performance and Injury History

• The speakers highlight Max Crosby’s performance and impact on games, despite playing for a subpar team.
• Crosby’s injury history is mentioned, including a high ankle sprain and a meniscus trim.
• Comparisons are made to past pass rushers like Terrell Suggs and the challenges faced by the team in recent years.
• The potential impact of Crosby on the team’s performance and the importance of a consistent pass rush.

Draft Class and Trade Implications

• The speakers discuss the perception of the 2026 draft class and the potential impact of the trade on future draft picks.
• The trade is seen as a gamble, with the potential for high rewards but also significant risks.
• The importance of the 14th pick in the 2026 draft and the potential for a player of similar caliber to Max Crosby.
• The trade is framed as a bold move to address immediate needs and potentially secure a Super Bowl win.

Impact on Lamar Jackson and Team Dynamics

• The trade is discussed in the context of Lamar Jackson’s contract extension and the team’s overall strategy.
• The speakers speculate on the potential impact of the trade on Lamar Jackson’s future with the team.
• The importance of addressing offensive line needs and the potential impact on players like Tyler Linderbaum.
• The trade is seen as a way to reallocate resources and address both offensive and defensive needs.

Max Crosby’s Character and Leadership

• The speakers discuss Max Crosby’s character and leadership qualities, including his overcoming personal challenges.
• Crosby’s reputation as a high-character player and his impact on team dynamics is highlighted.
• The potential for Crosby to galvanize the fan base and the team’s overall morale.
• The importance of having a leader on defense and the potential for Crosby to fill that role.

Comparison to Past Players and Team Performance

• The speakers compare Max Crosby to past players like JJ Watt and Terrell Suggs.
• Discussion on the team’s performance in recent years and the need for a consistent pass rush.
• The potential impact of Crosby on the team’s overall performance and the importance of a complete defense.
• The trade is framed as a way to address long-standing defensive needs and potentially secure a Super Bowl win.

Risk and Reward of the Trade

• The speakers acknowledge the significant risk involved in trading two first-round picks for a player.
• The potential for high rewards is balanced against the potential for disappointment.
• The importance of managing the team’s salary cap and addressing long-term needs.
• The trade is seen as a bold move to address immediate needs and potentially secure a Super Bowl win.

Impact on Future Draft Strategy

• The speakers discuss the potential impact of the trade on future draft strategy and the team’s overall approach.
• The importance of having a clear plan for addressing both offensive and defensive needs.
• The potential for the trade to impact the team’s approach to free agency and player acquisitions.
• The trade is framed as a way to address immediate needs and potentially secure a Super Bowl win.

Final Thoughts and Speculations

• The speakers reflect on the overall impact of the trade and the potential for high rewards.
• The importance of managing the team’s salary cap and addressing long-term needs.
• The potential for the trade to impact the team’s approach to free agency and player acquisitions.
• The trade is seen as a bold move to address immediate needs and potentially secure a Super Bowl win.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Maxx Crosby, Baltimore Ravens, trade, first-round pick, Lamar Jackson, defensive line, pass rush, Super Bowl, Eric DeCosta, salary cap, defensive coordinator, player acquisition, franchise history, risk assessment, Hall of Fame.

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00:01

Welcome all. We are W, N, S T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. And this is going to be a doozy. We’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour lots places will be at missonis on Tuesday night, and it’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. GBMC and our newest sponsors at Farnan and Derma, they are the comfort guys. And Luke and I were together on Friday afternoon at Costas Inn. Alan joined us. You hear some baseball chatter. Gonna hear a lot of things. Tim Kirk in you hear from Aaron Fisher, Marty Conway. We look at a lot of baseball,

00:36

and you always sort of rue this tampering period. To some degree, you’re like, anything can happen. Anything can happen. Lamar had a tweet. It’s cryptic. It’s very, very cryptic. And we were like, well, it’s got to be about Lamar, right? It’s not like they’re trading for Max Crosby or anything, right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think most people assumed or thought and hoped that it was pertaining to Lamar Jackson’s contract extension, which, by the way, probably does, because to acquire Max Crosby, they have to do some maneuvering right there, as it presently give out the money part of this, because it doesn’t grow on trees like it does for like the Dodgers. Well, but, but that said, you look at what’s left of the deal, and look, we’re going to get into all the tentacles of this. I mean, this is the biggest trade in the history of the franchise. They had never traded one first round pick for a player, let alone two. So we’re talking about brand new territory, uncharted waters, for the Baltimore Ravens, and more specifically, Eric to Costa, running the Baltimore Raven, in regard to the value of the picks, in regard to the value of the player, in regard to the salary of the this is all in as you get. I mean, you’re talking about the Ravens forfeiting the 14th overall pick. Let me. Let me remind everyone the players that they’ve selected in the first half of the draft in the history of their franchise in their 30 plus years, Jonathan Ogden, Peter Boulware, Dwayne Starks, Chris McAllister, Jamal Lewis, Travis Taylor, Terrell Suggs, hello De nada. Ronnie Stanley, Marlon, Humphrey Kyle Hamilton,

02:10

one bust in that entire group, only two guys they didn’t give a second contract to. So you’re talking about and I get it 14th, isn’t fourth, like some of those guys that that I just mentioned, but in the history of the franchise, you’re talking about acquiring a

02:30

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Pro Bowl kind of player, a potential Ring of Honor kind of player, in the case of Jonathan Ogden and Terrell Suggs, I assume eventually Hall of Fame players. So this is, you know, to say it’s not risky, would be to ignore everything this franchise is valued. That said, Well, you think you’re picking 31st or 32nd next year, then, right? This is all in. This is super bowl or bust in the next three years. Let’s say, right? I mean, that’s what it’s all about. This isn’t about making yourselves good for the long run. This is about going for FM picks. This is understanding that Lamar, whatever is left of Lamar Jackson’s prime, 234, years somewhere in that neighborhood, and then we’ll, we’ll see after that, in the same way you see about anyone three or four years down the road. But this is one of those where you say fortune papers the bold what has been something that has held them back at times. And it’s not just the defense or just the pass rush, but even the years under Mike McDonald, even two years ago, when they were second in the league in sacks, we always questioned but what about crunch time? What about when you need to get there with a Four man rush, what about when you need to close on that final drive? Would their pass rush get home? No. Max Crosby’s a finisher. I get it. He hasn’t played for a great team by by any stretch of the imagination. That’s part of the reason why he wanted out after years of being a good soldier in first Oakland and then Las Vegas. But, I mean, this guy’s a game wrecker, and it’s gonna be 29

04:07

he’s had a couple injuries the last couple years, nothing, you know, a high ankle sprain, and last year he had a meniscus trim. Actually had it in January. But this guy’s been an absolute monster, not just picking up sacks, but great against the run, all, all the things you want, pressure rate. We’ve seen it. You saw it firsthand when you went to Vegas five years ago, going on, five years ago, he was an absolute game wrecker. Oh, they had no answer, and Ronnie Stanley was injured, right? No question. But we saw that. And then when the Ravens had their home opener two years ago, he was an absolute game wrecker. I mean, that’s what kind of guy this is. They haven’t had that since Terrell Suggs and his prime to give Marvin a call. I hadn’t thought about that, you know, Marvel, right? So that said they gave up two first round picks. It’s a massive package to give up, but you’re looking at it, and you and I haven’t, and probably at this point, probably.

05:00

Probably won’t dive into this draft class as much as we do most years, because they’re not going to be picking until the second round. But you know, the perception was, this wasn’t a draft class that a lot of the pundits and the people that follow it closely that that they were as enamored with as some years. So not to say you wouldn’t be able to get a good player, but even at 14th, were you necessarily going to get even a Kyle Hamilton level player, which they got a few years ago when they were picking 14th. So if the answer is no, then you look at it through the lens of saying, well, with our 14th pick, we can get max Crosby. And to your point, if all goes the way we envision it going in 2020, in 2026,

05:43

then that pick will be very late next year. So it’s wild. I mean, it’s absolutely wild. It says unraven Like as anything that they’ve done in the history of the franchise. But this is a great player. I mean, I don’t know how much longer he’s going to be great. There’s nobody that’s not going to check off on this right for now, because it is like it. I mean, whoever the 14th pick is, you know, whoever the Raiders take, it’ll be a spotlight on that, and Tom Brady and like and whatever they might wind up packaging that to do whatever they’re going to do, who knows? Right? I mean, they’ve already, they’re already getting their quarterback Right, sure, sure. I mean, when I saw the word Raiders. And I will be fully honest, I was asleep at 936 on on Friday. Was finishing up an old fashioned at my at my sister and brother in law’s house. You know, I was monitoring everything, just like everyone else, but, well, I mean, I had spent the afternoon with you, and I come home, and I’m getting a lot of work done this weekend, and I went to bed early, and when I saw Raiders, I’m like, they traded Lamar and, like, put my glasses on. Like, literally, I mean, I saw it at 1:55am,

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06:49

on Saturday morning, when I got up, because I’m 57 and I pee in the middle and that my cat needed food. And I looked down and I saw, I’m, like, they traded like that literally, was when I saw Raiders, I thought, Oh no, they and that would have been the other direction, right? That would have been, we got a new coach. We’re going to, you know, like that would have been trouble. This is the opposite of that. This is like you i

07:15

This is where insider trading is a problem for gambling in sports, because whatever the Ravens were on Friday morning to win the Super Bowl. It moved. I guarantee it moved. It moved. It moved like Taylor Swift tickets. It moved. Yeah. I mean, I’m not saying it automatically makes them the favorite across the league, but it’s certainly, I mean, Max Crosby’s a great player. You know, this missing Terrell Suggs piece that we’ve been talking about with O way and whatever a job, oh, never was. And Tyus Bowser never was. And like all along, when they were trying to get a Kyle van Noy or buying a clowny or, you know, wherever they would go out into the rental market and get a doomerville, I mean, they, they brought the guy back couple years ago. They brought the guy that’s from down in the montgomery county, PG County, the local guy, yeah. I mean, go quick, yeah. I mean, they were just trying to do anything they could do to get third and long snaps, give me 20 decent snaps to chase the quarterback around. And they could. They’ve been years since they’ve really, who’s the last Well, I mean, the clowning year was the clowny van Noy year was very and this is where I’ll defend Eric dicostal, and that was a McDonald year, right? Am I wrong? Yeah, okay. I mean, you look at it, and I right before I hopped on the zoom with you, to talk about this and to break it down and kind of reflect where they’ve been, you know, first of all, you made the point. I mean, from the from the time Terrell Suggs departed in 2018 and obviously he wasn’t in his prime by that point. But think about it, to Costa Jalen Ferguson in the third round in 2019

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adafe o way, first round, 2021

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David ajabo, second round 2022

08:58

Adisa Isaac, third round, 2024

09:01

Mike Green in the second round last year.

09:04

What have they had to show for it? Now, Mike Green could still blossom, especially now,

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Max Crosby, I would have to picture him like eating on Instagram if I was Mike Green, right? Yeah. I mean, if you’re you’re looking at Mike Green to me with Max Crosby on the opposite side, and we’ll see about Matt. ABK, Mata BK, there’s a video posted on Instagram. He’s working out. There’s, there’s, there’s more optimism about him. I’m not saying it’s official or anything like that. It’s a lot of money and it’s a lot of player, if you know. But the point is, with Mike Green, it’s like, man, you’re hoping, if Mike Green doesn’t have seven or eight sacks this coming year, then that probably tells you he just He probably can’t play, right? You know what I mean, like, because Max Crosby’s going to command so much attention, and you made a point talking about the way that they’ve tried to cobble this together. And in fairness to their approach, this is where I’ll defend them a little

09:58

bit. They’ve put together some pretty form.

10:00

Pass rushes in the regular season in terms of this ensemble approach, where they’ve tried to draft guys, they’ve signed the clownies and the van noise of the world. And look in 2022 they were fifth in sacks with 48 2023 they were first with 62,024

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which was the year Zach or took over as defensive coordinator. They were second with 54 it’s not as though that he had no ability whatsoever to get to the quarterback. However, Four man rush and in crunch time, when you need to finish, when you need a finisher, they haven’t had that guy. They haven’t had that guy in a long, long, long time. That’s not going to sit here and say that’s the only reason why they fall in short in January, quarterbacks so importantly, so important, so important, so important. And they just they’ve been able to do it for spurts. They’ve been been able to do it against lesser teams. They’ve been able to scheme it up. But to have a dude, they haven’t had that such a long time, and they’ve got one now, and they paid a heck of a price to get it. There’s no question about that. And is there risk with that? Yeah, of course. I I mean, the players I just named, there could be a guy that they could have drafted that could be as good as Max cross, you know, around here saying a mentor, hey dude, you know, like, win the Super Bowl and we’re allowed to rebuild. We’re allowed to do whatever we need to do around year, to strip it down, and we collect picks better than anybody. And when it’s time to strip it down, we’ll get developmental this in 29 and yeah, like, let’s just win a Super Bowl this year or next year or the year after that. That’s, that’s kind of, yeah, I mean, and that’s what you’re look

11:40

you look at all these, all this maneuvering that they’ve started doing, just like the Howie roseman’s The you know, go down the list of every general manager, you think something of any general manager that’s won a Super Bowl in recent years. I mean, these teams use void years. They kick the can down the road. They trade, in the case of the Rams, they trade picks, right? I mean, they won a Super Bowl five years, going on, six years ago doing it. So there are always things that you’re going to do that you look far enough ahead into the future, and yeah, there’s going to be a reckoning. There will be a reckoning year when Lamar is done, when Max Crosby’s done, you know, they’ll be at a point. You know, by that point, Ronnie Stanley will have long retired, like you go down the list. There’ll be a point when they have $100 million in dead money, and they’re going to be lousy, quite frankly, at least by their standards, and they’ll be talking about starting over and drafting, you know, at that point, maybe they drafted lamarr’s replacement already, or he’s moved on elsewhere. But that’s not next year. That’s not, you know, that’s not two years from now. That’s that might be five years from now, right? I mean, who knows? Point is, there are ways to

12:50

kick that out into the future and prolong your window. But to do that, you need stars. They needed another star on defense, right? There’s no they haven’t had a star up front. Matta BK was moving toward that as a defensive tackle, but having someone that can rush off the edge, it’s, you know, it’s way.

13:12

I think it’s easier to not have had a lot of help, sure, but, but hello to nada also helped a lot of those guys. And Suggs would be the first to tell you that, right? When you have someone who’s commanding older Ray Lewis, right? Ray Lewis with, you know, what, in a different way, because it wasn’t a pass rush, but Sir goose and Adams, right? I mean, there’s no one who does it by himself and But that said, when you look at the kind of player Crosby’s been, and what, something you mentioned that, you know, not pushing back, but I’m just saying the contrast here, you mentioned how they’ve been long looking for that guy that can do that. You know, give them 25 or 30 snaps of high level. Go look at Crosby. He plays just about every snap. I mean, he’s, he’s a, not a three down guy. He’s a four down guy. I mean, he plays, he’s out there for all but a few snaps. Now it’s gonna be 29 might be worth pulling him an extra, you know, maybe an extra series per game to to make him that much better in the fourth quarter. But that’s what kind of player this is. This is a complete player. I mean, if you go and look, I saw Warren sharp talked about, you know, he since Crosby entered the league in 2019

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his rank among all defensive linemen, you know, because he’s been a defensive end with the Raiders, but number one in tackles for loss, number one in solo tackles, number two in quarterback pressures, number two in quarterback hits, number three in total tackles, number four in batted passes, fifth in sacks. I mean, that’s what you’re talking about, a lousy team that played from behind most time, where the other team wasn’t even looking to pass right because they were ahead by so much. And if you just made such a great point, I saw a couple people noted that as well. I mean, this is a guy who’s been to the playoffs once the Raiders have been awful for most of his tenure in Oakland and Las Vegas.

15:00

Is so, I mean, this is a guy that wants to win. Everyone’s familiar with his problems with alcohol early in his career, but, I mean, that was a story where he checked himself into rehab. He’s been sober, and he’s been an incredible player, and he’s been extremely healthy until the last two years where, again, a high ankle sprain and a meniscus trim keep an eye on it like he’s not getting. You know, I’m not saying his prime is going to be for five more years, but there’s no reason to think this guy can’t play at an extremely high level for at least a few more years. And you look at that contract, yeah, that he’s set to make $30 million dollars this year, but look at the cost of doing business in the edge rusher market, and I will say it’s the kind of deal that should be very easy for them to restructure and redo, that he can have a cap number that’s probably next to nothing this year, and they’ll be in a position where they can still make I’m not saying they’re going to make other monster trades or signings, but still make some additions and improvements. Obviously they need to address O line. You know, you see a move like this, it makes you wonder if, if this was money that was going to go to Tyler Linder bomb, and may not be at this point, but you reallocate resources, you pivot. They’ve got to figure out what they’re going to do with their O line. There’s no doubt. There’s no doubt about that, right? I mean, I’m not going to say they’re not done now, right? But, boy, they’ve they’ve added, they’ve added a difference maker, to say the least. They paid it. They’ve paid massively for a difference maker. But anyone who’s watched this guy, I mean, it’s a monster. I mean, he absolutely is. So I’m excited by it. It’s, you know, this is one of those Fortune favors, the bold. I mean, this team, prior to this past year, they’ve been there, they’ve been there, they’ve been there, they’ve been there. And when they get there, they haven’t had enough to get over the top on either side of the ball, quite frankly, right? So much of it’s been on, you know, how Lamar has played, or mark Andrews or zay flowers. But let’s keep in mind, while the defense hasn’t been bad in the playoffs, how many times have we also said they need to make a play? Two years ago against Kansas City in the AFC title game, the defense wasn’t bad, far from it. Did they make a play? For the defense has been a strip, if it’s been anything like that, but they haven’t, but in the biggest game, yeah, they haven’t been good at getting the quarterback, sacking a quarterback, they haven’t been good at picking the ball off like they haven’t been disruptive to quarterbacks in a general sense, when they’ve absolutely needed two long stretches of time since, especially since McDonald left and and, you know, look, laying that on Zach or, I mean, you mentioned how many past rushers. They went through the chuck Smiths and the specialists that were brought in to try to hone the skill set of Mike Green as a rookie away in his prime, just down the line. Matt judon, for a minute, had it guys, we’re going back a little ways now, but

17:57

I would just say for them and for this, they’ve made the draft a lot less fun, probably for themselves, right? Yeah. I mean, draft isn’t here next year. Pick at first. They might be the defending champions next year, but

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it does change the complexion of everything. And we haven’t talked a lot, you and I, it’s been more Lamar and Linder bomb, not who is Eric going to sign in free agency? Or what big deal are they going to have, or what player are they going to draft at 14, not on March 1, not you and me anyway. I mean, we’re much more. All right, it’s tampering period. If Lamar is going to get traded to the dolphins or the Raiders, this is when it’s going to happen. And if Max Crosby is going to get traded to the ravens, this is when that’s going to happen. And based on roquan Smith, based on Eric being completely open minded, right? Like To your point, this is an unprecedented thing in a different way. I do miss

19:04

not just my press credential and access to actually talk to these human beings, because they weren’t considered better than me as they are now. But I miss Ozzie Newsome taking the podium at this with you and me right now. They make the trade we run out though, Owings Mills, Ozzie grabs the podium and touches it, because he would always touch it and say,

19:26

Luke, we’re better football team today than we were yesterday. We’re a better football team. And that’s what he would say. And I would say, Well, you know, how much money does it cost, and how many draft picks, and what if we mortgage down the line? And those are questions for Steve bishani, and those are questions for Luke and Nestor on the radio, if we’re making that in the in the big picture. But have we energized the fan base? Have we made the team better? Are we selling more tickets? Are we more of a Super Bowl contender we perceived as such? Have we given more tools to Lamar Jackson, even if we’re taking away Tyler Linder by.

20:00

And we’ll get into the nuance. Well, that’s all we’re going to do for the next six months. And we’re going to have draft picks to add, but it’s not going to be the 14th pick in the draft. It’s not going to be Kyle Hamilton. I mean,

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you got your you got your Christmas toy, you got your Easter Bunny, you got your, you know, the tooth fairy. You got, you know, this. So you and I then in talking about, well, I wonder if they’re going to get a bit piece here, what they’re going to do with flowers, or, like, where are the other money is going to go? Or, I mean, they don’t have a Lamar done yet, right? I mean, there’s an assumption here, yeah. I mean, I think, and with lamar’s cryptic tweet on Friday afternoon, he got a bag of money too. I’m, I’m guessing that, yeah, that’s coming. But I’m guessing there was also some conversation here where Eric’s talking to lavar and saying, Look, between us, get ready to go trade for Max Crosby. But we’re obviously going to need some cap space to take his contract as it’s presently constructed, and then we’ll redo that. Are you ready to be ready to sign this? And I’m guessing, guessing the answer is yes, because you’re if you didn’t have an extension done with Lamar, and we were just talking about the restructure scenario right, where we said, that creates so many questions for next year, I don’t think there’s any way you’re trading two first round picks in that scenario, because then you’re starting to wonder, are you going to get your franchise quarterback signed? Like, what does that? You know what I mean. So this, to me, was Eric tips off. Lamar, hey, I’m getting ready to do something big here. It’s not official. It won’t be nothing’s official till Wednesday, right? But I’m got an offer sheet in front of him too, according to Sure, short weeks ago, and I don’t know how that Oh, and again, we’re into this really weird period. You and this is our first piece. We might do five more pieces before the piece even gets done, because it is dominoes, especially when it comes to money, right? Yeah, no question, but, but to answer your question, I

21:56

mean Crosby’s deal, which at this point is a $30 million base salary this year, 29 next year, 26.5 and 28 and 2029 27.43 now, those aren’t all guaranteed, right? I mean, it’s really, you look at this deal, it’s two years of guaranteed money right now. But those are all you know. That’s a relatively flat salaries. They’ll probably redo his deal, and you’ll have a lower, much lower cap number this year, if you want a low ish cap number next year. And then after that, you’ll kind of say, Okay, where is he? Where are we as a roster, all that, those things. But point is, it’s a very easy deal to take on from a structure standpoint. Now it’s a lot of cash. I mean, like, what do you like? He’s not he’s not gonna pay for play for free. You know, he’s a five time Pro Bowl edge rusher, but I think you just look at it through that lens. You don’t make a move like this unless something, something has happened or is is going to happen with Lamar here. And I don’t mean a simple restructure. I mean, you know, lamar’s future is going to be assured here for the next three or four years. You know, so, so, so, yeah, but what does that mean for Linder bomb? What does that mean for what they need to do at guard, right? Either guard spot, the center spot, you know, if Linder bombs getting $23 million elsewhere per year, but you know, you do something like this. I mean, it’s to your point. There’s the RE, you know, kind of galvanizing the fan base, reinvigorating everyone on your rostering the team that they actually can win Exactly. They’re not selling smoke and mirrors. You’re like you and me and Alan getting together on the Orioles and saying, Can they really win a World Series without holiday, without westburg, without kittridge, without a bullpen with, you know, yeah, we can make a case. But are they? Are they the best team in baseball? No, can they be in August? Maybe, maybe by a little bit. It’s never by a lot in baseball. In football, the better teams are better by a lot, and the bad teams are bad by a lot. And when you do this, you then say, come on back. Aaron Rodgers, will you know you’re gonna kiss the dirt three times in the game. And Joe burrow, who was just gonna say, How about Joe burrow? Man Crush On You know what I mean, in general, right? So miles Garrett, when he faces Cleveland, TJ watt, when he faces Pittsburgh, and now Max Crosby when he faces the Baltimore Ravens. I mean, good luck, right? And they’re gonna lose their guy, right? Their guy’s gone, right? Yeah, hendrickson’s gone, yeah. I mean, that that’s our I mean, boy, they totally botched that. I mean, I thought that was the guy to ravens and say, hey, yeah, that kind of felt like he could be the guy. And look, I’m not gonna sit here and say I would have been unhappy with Trey Hendrickson, but Max Crosby’s a much more complete player. And you know, Hendrickson, I think, what, a couple couple years older, I believe I could be wrong on that. I mean, dude, I mean and bringing it, we thought roquan Smith, right? Like these imported guys when they brought ankle.

25:00

On bold in it, you know, like Matt Burke, I, you know, like, Sure, this is one of those kinds of things that when you’re writing Purple Rain three, because I ain’t gonna be the one writing it, although, now with the clone,

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you know, this is, this is how you write Purple Rain three, quite frankly, right? Yeah. And let’s face it, if there’s not, if there’s not a book being written, and they haven’t won a Super Bowl, then you’ll probably look at this deal, and it won’t necessarily be an indictment on max Crosby as an individual player, but you’ll look at it and say, wow, they went all in, and it still didn’t work. Derek Henry, the day they signed, Derek Henry, I’m fully on going all that was a game record day. He’s two years older now, right? But, but

25:47

two years wiser. There are no guarantees here and that. And that’s not me saying that they they shouldn’t do it. There’s no guarantee. Well, that seemed to have more into Kyle Hamilton’s prime, sure, maybe out of roquan Smith’s prime, certainly out of Ronnie Stanley and and Marlon Humphrey’s prime, should be in zay flower. Mean, zay Flower should be a 1400 yard guy, you know, like, i By the way, they’re gonna have, they’re gonna have to be looking at him. I mean, like his fifth year option and go look at what he’s gonna be a $30 million receiver, whether it’s in Baltimore, whether it’s in Baltimore or elsewhere. Like he’s going to be that kind of guy. I mean, there’s he’s trending to be that kind of guy. So point is, when you kind of look at those guys and look

26:29

by next year, and I’m, you know, these aren’t bold predictions, this is spitballing, just, you know, with stream of consciousness, it’s very well possible this move like this is done with the idea that roquan Smith might not be here next year, that Ronnie Stanley might not be here next year, right? I mean, because you’re going to talk about how much they’re making compared to their production, where they are from a cap standpoint, universally, right, all that. So you’re always kind of looking at this and look, the best franchise isn’t and this is something the Ravens have done. You’re, yeah, you’re trying to put together the best possible team you can for 2026

27:04

but you’re still, you’ve got a skeleton idea in your mind of, you know what next year is going to look like, you know what the year after that’s going to look like? And you know there’s, it’s not intimately detailed, right? I mean, it’s not crazy detailed, but you have an idea in your mind that, all right, this is a decent chance. This is our last year with roquan, because you look at the cap number next year and what his play has been like, we might be moving on. And by the way, that’ll clear, that’ll clear up some cap space, we’re really going to need to go address this and this, right? So there’s always that kind of puzzle, but there, there’s always a plan A, a plan B, a Plan C, but they’re always pivots. Like I said, the Ravens may have said, You know what,

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27:47

we’re we don’t feel it’s the best value to give Tyler Linder bomb whatever he’s going to get. And again, I don’t know this for sure. I’m just spitballing here. So we were willing to make him a $20 million center. There’s not another center that we can go get right now that we’re going to give $20 million to So, and you have to have your alternatives, right? You’ve got to pivot, and they’ll need to do that. They’re going to need a center if they don’t resign lender bomb. But the point is, you say, okay, but those resources now we can allocate to go out and get a stud pass rusher that we need to get. Who can we get? Well, we could sign Trey Hendrickson, but He’s two years older than Crosby. He’s not really good against the run, so he’s not really a three down player in the way that Crosby plays, I don’t know, 90% of snaps per game. You know, whatever, whatever the ravens are envisioning for him as he’s going to be 29 but you know, you kind of look at it and you pivot right, you say, Okay, we’re not going to have the highest paid center in the league, but that gives us some more resources that, yeah, we’re going to have to still go get a center, whether we draft one or we go sign a guy that we think is solid, but not a pro bowl center, but we can go make a move to get A stud pass rusher, not just a stud pass rusher, a stud defensive player, a guy that, by all accounts, loves football. And in with the Raiders was, you know, first guy in the building all about ball. You know, go, go look on Twitter. I mean, you can find old interviews of him talking about how, other than his family, his biggest obsession is football and and

29:24

to your point, there’s going to be another element to this. I mean, you’re going to see whatever, assuming he’s, you know, he was 98 and with the Raiders, whether he’s going to wear 98 and Travis Jones switches numbers, whatever, a lot of Max Crosby ravens jerseys at the stadium on Sundays. There’s no doubt about that. I mean, this guy, you know he’s, he’s a kind of guy that will, will galvanize a fan base in the way that Lamar Jackson did six years ago, right when he took over for Joe Flacco, and suddenly you have an MVP quarterback and the best offense in football and and all that. So there, this is one of those moves that.

30:00

Yes, it’s big for the football team itself, but it’s also really big from a marketing standpoint. And look, let’s also not deny as much as we’re going to talk about Steve or about Eric da Costa literally being the one to make the move. Let’s not at all downplay the possibility that this wasn’t Steve bishati giving a very strong nudge to say, Let’s go do it. Let’s go for it. Let’s be bold. Here we were bold two months ago when we decided to let John go. Let’s Let’s go, make a big move and fix this pass rush once and for all, and take this defense to another level with our new defensive minded head coach, who this thrills, Jesse Minter, obviously, and whatever other say Jesse mentors got plans, and by the way, I want to promote the fact that I wrote a dear John Harbaugh piece that people can go read. And one of the many, many challenges that I gave to John Harbaugh is, you know, good luck finding people that can find Ed reads and Ray Lewis’s and Terrell Suggs and Lamar Jackson’s, because you got to find those players. And I don’t know if Jackson darts one of them. I don’t know. You know, they got a special guy on defense in the middle, but great, but like, you need an army of them. And you know, Marlon Humphrey’s a special player, and roquats Miss a special player, and Matt apika is a special player, and Linder bombs a special player. And safe, damn one anything so with John. I’m talking about Jesse Minter knows

31:24

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this was the best job out there, not necessarily because bashati is the greatest guy, or Eric said this or that. They have players. They have structure, they they’re in a weak division. Everybody wanted this job before Max Crosby showed up, because they wanted Lamar, they wanted prime they want Kyle Hamilton, who’s going to the Hall of something, right So, and there’s been all of that here, and Minter takes the gig here, and within five minutes, they brought in Max Crosby

31:56

see if John Harbaugh pulls out with Don Aponte, and whatever he doing up there with Joe Schoen. And like, this doesn’t happen everywhere. Where you get that, and that’s where Jesse Minter now gets,

32:09

you know, instead of the Island of Misfit Toys, he got heated Christmas, Christmas of Saturday at this point, right? Yeah. And, I mean, let’s face it, especially with Jesse Minter being the head coach, like, this defense needs to be great now, like, great, not good, not Oh, well, we have this many sacks, and that ranks in the top 10, and it needs to be great because you hired a defensive minded coach who’s going to call plays. You know, call the defense on Sundays. You now have high paid elite talent at every level of the defense, especially if namdi Mada BK can play again and again, there’s, there’s enough out there to at least have some level of optimism, whether, whether it’s comes to fruition or not. But, I mean, this is a game. He better be a game changer. He gave up two first round picks for him, right? I mean, but that’s the kind of player he’s been. I mean, Crosby, don’t be confused with the fact that he played for the Raiders, and the Raiders stink, and they’re a lousy organization, and they’re starting over again with another new head coach and another new quarterback. This guy’s been a great player, and, yeah, he doesn’t let that rub off on him. He Oh, I mean, he wanted to, he signed an extension with them last year. I mean, this guy has been, exactly what miles Garrett has been in Cleveland. Look the as big a losers as the Browns are, no one would say miles Garrett’s a loser, right? Miles, Garrett is a phenomenal, one of the best football players of my generation. Watching this guy, I mean, he’s absolute, you know, you don’t even have to ask if he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer, you know, is max Crosby. Miles, Garrett, no, but, man, he’s been a really special player the last five or six years and, well, now it’s max Crosby in the Hall of Fame’s coming here and playing three Yeah, no question, yeah. I mean, if this is a guy, if he wins a Super Bowl and he makes a few more Pro Bowls, yeah, you’re talking about him being a guy who has a heck of a chance to be a hall I mean, I mentioned Bolden and Burke, they came here and did that. They’re not in the Hall of Fame. They’re in the Hall of okay, and really good and, like, what you know, like, really, really

34:10

no, no, but exceptional players. And they’re still not getting in the Hall of Fame, despite what they did here. This guy,

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if they win the Super Bowl while he’s here, he’s going to the Hall of Fame. Like I will say that because he’s his body of work is even greater than Bolden and Burke when they got here, and bolden’s body of work, I mean, they’re really, really good players, like Steve Smith when he got here, kind of Eric Weddle when he got here. Really good. All of those guys, really good players. This guy’s a notch above that. Roquat Smith, really good player when he got here.

34:46

I do say a notch above that. That’s That’s all. And I don’t know if his career ended today, he’d have a Hall of Fame case. They would talk about him, but his team stunk. Yeah. I mean five Pro Bowls. You?

35:00

In, what, seven years. I mean, that’s what you’re kind of talking about here. I mean, this guy’s been a heck of a player. There’s no doubt about that. And the top 10 players in the league the last five years, and I’ll include quarterbacks in that, um, people talk about Josh Allen. See, I exclude quarterbacks are just such a different animal from a value standpoint, like it. There’s nothing close to that. But in terms of comes on the board to that to me, okay, I mean, I, you know, I more valuable piece than Kirk Cousins, or, like that name, any of the quarterbacks that aren’t the top quarterbacks, sure, that’s what I’m saying. I understand the point you’re making. What the NFL, every year, they come up the top 100 of this, if he’s number 12 or number eight or number 14, you know, whatever that number is, but he’s not number 33 he’s one of the best 30 players in the league by far. And they got to shoot another superstar to Europe. He was the Raiders best player. He was the best player on an awful team, and on the ravens, he might be their second best player. Yeah, Hamilton and Lamar, right. He’s their second or third best player. Humidity come Yeah, yeah. I mean, I to me, that’s, I mean, to try to figure out what the ranking is across the league. But better player than TJ watt, to me, yeah, I would, I would agree with that. Especially good as Miles Gary. Yeah. I mean, miles Garrett’s just Okay, so we’re talking the same language, yeah, oh, of course. And I really the point you just made is really the one that resonates with me. It’s that this guy should be their second or third best player. Like it’s, it’s Lamar, because he’s a two time MVP at quarterback, right? Most important position, and then, and then after that, even though, on YouTube, they’ll say, I hate Lamar, I agree with that. You look at the pyramid, Lamar is at the top, and then the it’s Kyle Hamilton and Max Crosby right next to each other. Now Kyle Hamilton’s younger Kyle Hamilton is going to be elite for a longer period of time here, assuming no injuries to either guy, major injuries, but, but he’s at max Crosby’s that kind of guy, by the way, I shat upon John Harbaugh at great length, and I had to go through the failures of playoffs, and I went to the Kansas City game, right? I’ll write off the San Diego and the Tennessee, you know, I’ll write off stuff six years ago, you know, even though I won’t, but in modern times, and then the loss in Buffalo to the mark Andrews loss, I’m talking about not the not the one before that, but in thinking about lamar’s role in failure, in that even in the Pittsburgh game where he threw the ball over buddy’s head and gave him a chance to win in the ball sailed wide right. Lamar’s role in all of this as an MVP who’s failed to believe that and bring a parade in. And the thing that’s the missing ingredient for him, we always think Derek Henry, or right now we’re going to talk about Tyler Linder bomb, or how does Ronnie Stanley protect him, or that atrocious offensive line they threw out there last year, or the the older tight end who dropped the ball that they just gave $13 million of fresh money, and they’re going to lose likely before. They’re likely to lose likely at some point before Wednesday, right and whether zay flowers is going to be affordable to them, and what they’re going to get in the fourth round of the draft, of the sixth round of the drafter, where the augmentations are going to be to any of the guard, right tackle. You’re talking Center. We’re talking left guard. We have an old left tackle. All of this pressure on Lamar. Lamar, Lamar, Lamar. Lamar has got to win the game in Pittsburgh. Lamar has got to win like in Buffalo, wherever it is.

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This is the balance of the augmentation for any balance team to not say it’s all about one guy. Now, Lamar can’t get hurt and all of that. But I do think when you’re talking missing ingredients over the course of time, the pass rush thing, every time they lose, we come back, and the whole of last year, right? Like so. So for all of this, for a rookie head coach, for a two time MVP quarterback. That should be three. He got screwed out of that. And this is a real I mean, you and I are doing this piece moments after the trade processes for us, right? Like to figure out what this means for Minter and what he’s going to be able to do, but also

39:21

that

39:23

and John’s not running the team anymore, that on fourth and two at the 46 yard line,

39:30

you don’t feel like

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we’ve got to be the 2019 ravens and bring Marshall yonda back and go for it, and we can play defense. We can punt here, and we’ll strip sack, we’ll get the ball back, we’ll have pressure on every play, instead of what John Harbaugh would have to do,

39:50

which is

39:52

we can’t put the defense on the field like we just we can’t, not against buffalo, not against since, not against anybody capable, not.

40:00

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Against a real quarterback, not even against freaking Aaron Rodgers, when they because they couldn’t rush him. That’s how they got their ass beat in the end, beyond the kick sailing wide and all that he couldn’t get off the field. And,

40:16

yeah, I mean, this is, yeah. I mean, the big deal, this is, hats off to Eric, to Costa for this and bishati for taking the crack at it. I’m not going to be the one to criticize it, because I’m trying to think like I hadn’t thought about Max Crosby in terms of All right, give me the six or eight quarterbacks you want this year, nine, and then let’s start talking about players, miles Garrett, I’ll take him, Kyle Hamilton. I’ll take him name five other players that you could steal, the guy in Green Bay

40:52

that they dealt for, for Micah Parsons, yeah. Okay, so like I’m thinking

40:57

name you could pick any safety, and you’ll take Kyle Hamilton, because he’s not a safety, right? He’s he’s not a safe. Give me a give me a Island, a revised Island. Pick any corner you love that shut down, best corner in the world. Pick me any roquan Smith, any Ray Lewis, middle linebacker, I don’t think so. Off the ball linebacker, fine. Any Matta BK, anybody that plays the game in the middle, like John Randall or Warren Sapp or loading not or whatever the value of that, and then say,

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41:28

Who would I really want? Who would you Who would I go get? If I could go get a player that’s a top dude. I’m talking single digits, if you want to make an argument, he’s the 12th best player, because you like eight of the quarterbacks, and yeah, Jalen Hurts more than him or whatever. I mean, I don’t I think he’s a better player than Jalen, and have a value standpoint. That’s all from the purpose of this exercise. Let’s eliminate quarterbacks, just say defensive players. Like, just defensive players, wherever you rank him, he’s tough. He’s really high on that list. Yeah, right. I mean, whether, whether he’s third or fifth or seven. I mean, Seattle just won a Super Bowl, but they don’t have a player as good as him. I mean, they just man that Seattle defense McDonald’s system is so good, and that’s why, that’s why the Ravens were excited, because they think Jesse Minter is cut from the same cloth. Now is, is Jesse Minter as great a coach as Mike McDonald. Well, we’re going to find out, right? I mean, he’s got a team here that. That’s why I said they’re super bowl or bust. And then East Baltimore, we’d say they’re loaded. They’re loaded blues. They can’t lose. They got to win the Super Bowl. They need to win. That’s the pressure they’re going to have now. They need to win a Super Bowl to justify this trade. And again, gambling geeks out there tell me the number that they were Friday at lunchtime and the number they are today, like whatever that is, whatever they were to win. I’m sure I’ll have 118 to 160 whatever the number was. It’s now five, you know, say whatever it is, and I haven’t, I’m sure. And you know why that is because they helped Lamar. It doesn’t feel that way, but I’m telling you, they help Lamar dramatically here. I mean, go the year that Kansas City came into Baltimore and won in the AFC title game. It’s not as though Patrick mahomes threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns in that game. Their defense shut down the Ravens offense, right? I mean, like it’s it’s not,

43:27

and that’s been one point of frustration with needing more nuance with the Lamar Jackson in January argument. Has Lamar been at his best in January over the course of his career? No, however, he has been better in January the last couple years compared to his first few seasons, but part of that equation has also been zay flowers fumbling the ball, or mark Andrews dropping the ball in Buffalo or a defense that didn’t give up. You know, they weren’t giving up 40 points in these postseason losses, but how many sacks were they getting when they needed to get off the field? How many turnovers were they forcing in those games? That’s part of it, and that’s not to say it was bad, but if you’re talking about trying to evaluate this thing, and look, it’s a high bar, they’ve created a very high bar for themselves when you’re talking about routinely getting to the playoffs last year aside, right? They’ve been there, but a player like Max Crosby, then added to that equation, is how you hope to get over the hump in some of those instances. So, you know. But just to follow up on something that I had mentioned to you, Max Crosby, percent of snaps he’s played for the Raiders these over the course of his career. Now, granted, he’s missed a couple, you know, he’s missed what, seven games the last two years. But prior to that, you know, 17 games, 17 games, 17 games, 16 games, when they played all you know, just 16 games, but his snap percentage in each of those seasons,

44:57

94% 97%

45:00

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Percent, 95% 96% and his first few years he was more around 80, 75% point is Skype doesn’t come off the field right now, I’m guessing the Ravens might have a slightly different plan for him, especially it’s gonna be 29 in August that you look at it and say, Okay, maybe he’s not gonna play 95% but it doesn’t mean it’s falling down to 60% either. This guy’s on the field. And again, he’s a great run stopper.

45:30

I mean, he does it all. He’s, you know, I saw, I forget who made the comparison on Friday night after, you know, because there, there was so much excitement across the league. I mean, this is a such a buzz worthy kind of move that the Ravens rarely make, right? I mean, they’ve never traded a first round pick, let alone two for a veteran player, but people have kind of compared him, you know, he plays on the edge more, but kind of compared him to JJ Watt, you know. And I see that, right? I mean, JJ Watt was little more of a interior player, inside, outside kind of player, and Crosby’s an edge but same kind of guy in terms of makes tackles, plays the run extremely well, swats passes, forces fumbles, sacks the quarterback. I mean, leader, leader. He absolutely has that kind of reputation, like a high character kind of guy. You know, as far as his reputation, he’s a good story, like I said. I mean, this is a guy who checked himself into rehab six years ago because he had an alcohol issue. Look, there are players in the Hall of Fame. You know, Chris Carter comes to mind to me immediately. As in terms of there have been guys who’ve had issues, even guys that were great players who had substance abuse issues, but he’s someone who, by all accounts, overcame those demons and has been an even better player since then. So Brett Favre went to the Hall of Fame, right? I mean, you know, these aren’t, these aren’t flawless human beings, but man, he’s, he’s just, he’s a heck of a football player. And I, I think, I think Ravens fans are familiar with this. I mean, he’s wrecked two games. Think about the Raiders won both those games, yeah. I mean, we watch the games, you know what? I mean. So he even they lost that. They won a game with the with the Minshew guy here, yeah, yeah, because they couldn’t block Max Crosby. Well, there you go, yeah. How much does he help your quarterback. Help Gardner Minshew. Wing is alright.

47:24

The ravens are on the cusp of making a deal. They’re it’ll become Memorial days, but we are on all things. If you’re on the wnst tech service, you got it at 930 on Friday night. If you weren’t get on it, you could find it at Baltimore positive. It’s all there for you. It’s all brought to you by Cole roofing and Gordian energy, far and a Dermer bring you all of our sports coverage. It all be up at Baltimore positive. They are the comfort guys for HVAC, for plumbing, for all that stuff. We had Zach on the show last week as well. We were over at Costas on Friday. We were Gertrude on Wednesday. We’ll be at missonis on Tuesday, doing the Maryland crab cake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery junction with our friends at GBMC and Farnham and Dermer and any parting shot you want to give on this, because obviously you’ve written, we’re going to write. This happened weird late at night on a Friday as we go into the middle of the week around here. Oh, I’ve had Rick Emmett from triumph on. Tim Curtin is coming on talking baseball. We just Peter King was on this week. It’s been, it’s been quite a week for the dead period, right? But you don’t

48:25

the Linda bomb thinks the next thing, right? And, yeah, I mean, I fully expect we’re going to hear a Lamar extension, you know, Linder bomb, look, it’s not impossible, right? I don’t want to sit here and say they are out of money, because that’s not true, but you do wonder if something like this is done in John Harbaugh’s doing what Rex did, which is camping out, outside and jump defense?

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Yeah, we’ll see. But

48:51

I’m not gonna say it might be the reason for the tampering period, by the way, just to know, right? It might be. I’m not going to sit here and say that there isn’t some significant risk to doing this. They traded two first round picks with considering the history of this franchise. What that means. It would be disingenuous to not acknowledge risk, but they clearly have recognized, beginning with two months ago, when Steve bashati said, We need a new head coach, they’ve recognized a need that they need to adjust and do some things differently if they want to get over the hump with in the Lamar Jackson prime era. So well, you want to energize the new building, for the new coach, for the old perspective, for the old players, for whatever we go, right? Yeah, you have just rejuvenated everyone in that building, from Kyle Hamilton and Lamar Jackson on down to guys that signed reserve future contracts two years ago, knowing that Max Crosby is going to be walking in that building in a few weeks, Anthony Weaver is energized, I promise you no doubt about it. So I commend them on that again. Is it risky? Yeah, they traded two first round picks for goodness sake. I mean, go, look at the history. But they.

50:00

Traded for an IS NOT A might be, dude, I’m down with this deal. This is good. I’m I like it, but I’m also going to acknowledge there’s a lot of risk here today. I love it. You check in with me in three years, and I’ll tell you how much I mean, but that’s the case with anybody. But I’m also, you look, man, I absolutely sign all through this with Trevor Rogers and Stowers, and there’s their minute by the P Alonso comparison here to draw, there’s Alonso comparison to draw here in a sense of not that the Ravens have you know, because, to your point, the Ravens have been much closer in recent years than the Orioles have been. Who the Orioles haven’t won a playoff game in me, young man, I was here when they comparison Williams. I was here when they dealt for Glen Clint Davis was going to save this franchise. So, I mean, listen that when it there’s a parallel, it smells good if we find out Max Crosby’s got a bad something, something, something something that’s, yeah, that’s a different thing. But as football, you never know here right now, this is getting if we’re Cisco and Eber, we’re giving it two thumbs up. Absolutely. Yeah, you can acknowledge, you can acknowledge that there’s absolutely, some significant risk here, but I still like it, and in the same way that I said, You know what I said about Pete Alonso, right? They probably overpaid. They probably won’t love that deal in year four and five. But if it is the difference of winning a pennant and not potentially, then I think you gotta, you gotta do it. And again, I’ll leave you with Fortune favors the bold and wow, the Ravens have never been so bold in the history of the franchise, and I commend them for it, as they’re trying to seize and maximize what’s left of their two time MVP quarterbacks, prime years, crazy couple months around here, not just in the American government and the democracy as well as football and baseball and Pete Alonso and Max Crosby. And

51:51

I guess that’s why we watch sports, because we never know what’s going to happen next. He’s Luke. I’m Nestor. We are wnsda in 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive. Max Crosby, come on down. You.