Trading two first-round picks for any non-quarterback entering his age-29 season is risky.
To argue otherwise spits in the face of what’s made the Ravens one of the NFL’s model franchises for the better part of three decades and ignores how such moves made by other teams in recent history have often turned out. The Ravens have drafted many more Hall of Famers and Pro Bowl players than busts in the first round over the years, especially when selecting in the top 20 as they were set to do with the 14th overall pick next month. Gaining plus production at the minimal cost of a rookie contract is the best way to sustain success for the long haul in a sport with a salary cap.
But Steve Bisciotti deemed the status quo as no longer working when he fired former Super Bowl-winning head coach John Harbaugh just nine months after awarding him a contract extension. And no matter how much the owner may have praised Eric DeCosta in a mid-January press conference, that reality couldn’t have been lost on the general manager, whose seat got warmer with the dismissal of the 18th-year head coach.
After years of keeping at least one eye on the long-term future and downplaying the need to maximize the Super Bowl window with two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, DeCosta and the Ravens delivered a clear message by acquiring five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby in a trade with Las Vegas that can’t become official until the start of the new league year Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Jackson’s prime isn’t going to last forever, and it’s Super Bowl or bust after years of coming up short. No matter how Crosby plays, it’ll be difficult to view this trade as a smashing success without the Ravens raising a Lombardi Trophy in the next few years. Otherwise, you’d just continue down the same path of prioritizing the draft and hoping for the best upon qualifying for the postseason, which isn’t something Baltimore has had much difficulty doing with a healthy version of Jackson.
But that’s why taking such a risk on this particular player at this time was the right thing to do. It signals a new era carrying a greater sense of urgency, and Crosby is as desperate to win as anyone after playing in just one postseason game and enjoying only one winning campaign in seven years with the Raiders.
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The pass rush isn’t the only reason the Ravens have failed in January, but a major theme in postseason defeats — as well as the all-too-common fourth-quarter collapses in recent years — has been their inability to get to the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen with a four-man rush when it matters most. And while DeCosta found temporary edge fixes such as Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy in free agency, numerous attempts to find a long-term answer in the early rounds of the draft have been unsuccessful.
Crosby changes that as a force multiplier to go with All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton on a defense that needed a reset after a poor 2025. With a new braintrust headlined by defensive-minded head coach Jesse Minter, the return to greatness for this defense isn’t tough to see if DeCosta can add a starting-caliber cornerback, a reserve safety, and some other depth pieces. And that’s not even accounting for the possible return of two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who has seemingly hinted at some optimism over social media since the conclusion of last season.
Make no mistake, much work remains this offseason with Crosby now costing both the 14th pick and significant dollars that otherwise could have gone toward free agents or a contract extension. In addition to the aforementioned defensive needs, the Ravens must add at least two starting-caliber interior offensive linemen as well as a couple legitimate depth options at wide receiver and tight end.
Crosby’s addition leaves this roster as top-heavy as it’s ever been with an elite quarterback presumably on the verge of another top-of-market extension and other big contracts on both sides of the ball on the books. Now without a scheduled first-round pick until 2028, the Ravens will need to hit on as many Day 2 and 3 picks as possible to maintain roster balance, and even that may not be enough to avoid a salary-cap reckoning at some point down the road.
But nobody will care about that if Crosby wrecks games in a way the Ravens haven’t been able to since Terrell Suggs was in his prime. That’ll not only make life better for the rest of the defense, but it’ll make winning a Super Bowl easier for Jackson, which is the sole focus at this point.
Is trading two first-round picks for Crosby — who also underwent knee surgery in January — a big risk?
Absolutely.
But it’s worth it as the clock continues ticking on the prime of a franchise quarterback.
