Will the ghost of Crosby deal and its lack of integrity haunt Ravens?

Maxx Crosby finally got to speak his mind and it’s pretty clear his journey to Owings Mills last week didn’t go as planned. Luke Jones and Nestor reset the Ravens offseason and wonder why Jesse Minter and Eric DeCosta avoided him upon his arrival at The Castle and what impact his words will have around the NFL.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ offseason, focusing on the Maxx Crosby trade and subsequent events. They criticized the team’s handling of Crosby’s visit, noting the lack of greeting from Eric DeCosta and Jesse Minter. Despite Crosby’s positive comments on the team, they questioned the Ravens’ interpersonal skills and the timing of the Trey Hendrickson signing. They also speculated on the impact of Crosby’s potential injury and the team’s overall readiness for the season, expressing concerns about the offensive line and the quarterback situation.

Max Crosby’s Visit and Initial Reactions

• Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss Max Crosby’s visit to Baltimore and the lack of greeting from Eric DeCosta and Jesse Minter.
• Nestor expresses frustration over the situation, calling it “sleazy” and questioning the interpersonal skills of the Ravens’ leadership.
• Luke Jones acknowledges the oddness of the situation but admits he doesn’t have all the details and can’t fully explain it.
• Nestor mentions the Trey Hendrickson signing and questions the Ravens’ cap room and the timing of the Crosby visit.

Max Crosby’s Perspective and Further Analysis

• Nestor and Luke discuss Max Crosby’s comments about his visit, including the lack of greeting and the inconvenience of his travel arrangements.
• Luke notes that Crosby’s reaction is what he expected, given the situation, and questions the Ravens’ interpersonal skills.
• Nestor emphasizes the importance of Max Crosby to the Ravens’ defense and the lack of professionalism shown by the team.
• Luke suggests that the Ravens’ actions could be seen as a premeditated move to sign Trey Hendrickson at a cheaper rate.

Potential Conspiracy Theories and Lamar Jackson’s Role

• Luke proposes a conspiracy theory that the Ravens’ actions were influenced by Lamar Jackson’s contract situation.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the possibility that the Ravens were trying to push Lamar Jackson’s extension by acquiring Max Crosby.
• Luke mentions Lamar Jackson’s tweet from the previous Friday, which could have been a signal of contract discussions.
• Nestor and Luke speculate on the Ravens’ motivations and the potential impact on Lamar Jackson’s future with the team.

Impact on the Ravens’ Offseason and Future Plans

• Nestor and Luke analyze the Ravens’ offseason moves, including the signing of Trey Hendrickson and the loss of Tyler Linderbaum.
• Nestor questions the Ravens’ ability to improve their team with the current offseason moves and the lack of a long-term solution at quarterback.
• Luke acknowledges the challenges but highlights the addition of Trey Hendrickson and other defensive players as positive steps.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of Lamar Jackson’s health and the potential impact of the new coaching staff on the team’s performance.

Comparison with Other Teams and Division Outlook

• Nestor and Luke compare the Ravens’ offseason moves with those of other teams, including the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.
• Luke emphasizes the importance of Lamar Jackson and the potential for the new coaching staff to improve the team’s performance.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the challenges facing the Ravens’ offensive line and the need for better coaching and player development.
• Luke highlights the potential for the Ravens to make significant improvements if they can address their offensive line issues and find a long-term solution at quarterback.

Final Thoughts and Future Prospects

• Nestor and Luke reflect on the overall state of the Ravens’ team and the potential for improvement in the coming season.
• Luke emphasizes the importance of Lamar Jackson’s health and the potential for the new coaching staff to make a positive impact.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential for the Ravens to make additional moves in the draft and free agency to address their remaining needs.
• Nestor concludes by expressing his frustration with the current state of the Ravens’ offseason and the lack of clear direction from the team’s leadership.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Maxx Crosby, Baltimore Ravens, Eric DeCosta, Jesse Minter, Trey Hendrickson, Lamar Jackson, defensive player, physical exam, free agency, interpersonal skills, NFL trade, offseason reset, football team, coaching staff.

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SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 taci, Baltimore. We are Baltimore. Positive. I am positively not in Baltimore. I’m not on this continent, although they do call America America in South America. I am in Peru. I am making my way back for opening day. Luke Jones is joining us now. I’m not doing a lot of radio here, dude, but I am pretty connected on the internet, and the max Crosby thing sort of creeped up. I wrote what I had to say. I literally wrote that over the Brazilian like Amazon flying in the middle of the night last Friday. It feels like a month ago, but it’s only been five days. It feels like a month ago that the max Crosby thing happened. When I hit you and said, Hey, I want to work from Peru, and let’s do a thing. You’re like, I’m tired of talking about Max. We haven’t even talked about Max Crosby yet, but you’ve been on the internet. I mean, I’ll let you go at it, but it’s been a hell of a week. I mean, and maybe it’s my algorithm and the timeline that shows up that I’m getting every criticism of it. But more than that, Max Crosby spoke out, which is, I think, why we’re doing this segment at this point, because I don’t think there’s much to leave to opinion that if di Costa and Jesse Minter as his new role took five hours to shake the hand of the guy that they traded two draft picks for. I’m calling bullshit on the whole matter, and I’m not even in the continent.

Luke Jones  01:32

Well, look, I’m not going to be so presumptuous that I know exactly what happened, because no one you don’t know. I don’t know, only the people that were specifically there, and even the versions of it will be different, right? But that said, what you just alluded to? I don’t have an explanation for that. It’s either, yeah, it looks really shady, and you’re going to question what is going on there, and even in the best possible light, then you’re really questioning their interpersonal skills, right? I mean, that’s the best way you could put it right. And I get it. It’s Tuesday. Free agency is underway. Max Crosby certainly was can’t come into the building and expect that Eric dicost is going to sit down with him for three hours and have his phone sitting on his desk five feet away, right like so we understand that part of it, but the idea that you’re not going to carve out five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes to go have a quick coffee with him with your phone in hand and say, hey, hey, man, I’m working on this, this and this, I might have

Nestor Aparicio  02:39

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to take a call. We’re going to sign Trey Hendrickson today, too. Sure, whatever. I mean, that’s the bullshit on top of the because, and I wrote this to you before I left. Once you start lying, you can’t stop because you don’t want to admit the lie. So they’re never gonna admit the lie. Now, so this whole Trey Anderson thing that they were gonna sign both of them really, where’s that cap room coming from? And the notion that Crosby would be, in our opinion, your opinion, and my opinion, we got out of bed at seven in the morning last Saturday to do radio, which is unprecedented in the history of our relationship, because and I completely was online with he’s a top three defensive player, if not a top one or two defensive player, like that kind of guy is going to come, Ray Lewis is going to come in your building, and you’re not even going to say hello to him after you deal for him. It is. It’s sleazy. That’s the word I use. Sleazy is what it is. And I know because I’ve been treated that way by these people. So, you know, I know what that’s about.

Luke Jones  03:47

Well, like I said, even in the best possible light, it’s weird, like, it’s weird, even if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, that’s that part of it. Look everything else, Max Crosby had to say, it’s about what I expected to hear. And yeah, he’s going to be ticked. And yeah, he’s going to like, like, if you fail a physical as a player, you’re thinking, what does that mean? What does that mean for my career? Am I going back to the Raiders? Is someone else can so all of the other reaction, you know, I was unmoved about the part where he had to fly into DC or Dulles and then drive the ball, like, things like that. That’s going to happen, right? Like that part of it, I’m not moved by right? I mean, but there, I can’t find a logical explanation why Jesse Minter nor Eric da Costa don’t at least come say hello and look, he wasn’t gonna be Jerry

Nestor Aparicio  04:32

Jones would have sent his plane right for $100 million player. So I’m just so, so, really, really, we’re dealing with it. This isn’t you or me, or me trying to get you to a football game or this is flying him into Dulles. Unto itself. Is like, I don’t know if I was flying a girlfriend and I just wanted to meet her for the weekend. I wouldn’t fly her to Dulles, let alone somebody who’s $100 million like it. Really is. It smacks of a lack of professionalism that I don’t even I don’t know, I don’t even know what to say about it, because I’m jaded, because of my press pass or whatever. It’s insane. It’s insane. How these people treat people, all kinds of people. They’re fans. They fired the head coach on a cell phone five weeks ago. So I like I don’t I don’t even know what to say about their interpersonal skills that you bring up because I don’t know anything about Jesse minther, but I do know this max Crosby was like flying across the country to join this outfit here that thinks it can win a Super Bowl that you and I said they become a Super Bowl favorite with him on the team. And this is a defensive genius who’s going to use this guy as the well. He’s got Kyle Hamilton too, right? So that was part of our dream scenario here, was that he was going to have a Suggs and a Lewis of, you know, that sort of combination, and for the dude to be in your building for five hours, and you’re the new head coach, you don’t go fist bump him. What the hell else did Jesse Minter have to do last week? I mean, seriously, I know he shook it from the fire hose and all that. What’s more important than acquiring a guy you allegedly spent two draft picks on your first two draft picks as the head coach of the team I’m and look, I’m not going to get to ask questions. You’re going to get to ask questions. You know what they’re going to do to you, they’re going to lie to you, because that’s what they do to everybody. And I can’t defend it. I can’t defend it. I can’t defend it on that continent or this one. I can’t.

Luke Jones  06:44

Oh, like I said, look, as far as the entire picture, people have made up their mind at this point, right? Raiders fans feel a certain way about it. Rate the most. You know, purple colored glasses. Ravens fans feel a certain way about it, and whatever actually happened. I still don’t know like to sit here and say 100% because I still struggle with the idea of like, what. So this was just premeditated to get tree Trey Hendrickson at a cheaper rate. They didn’t really sign Trey Hendrickson at this massive bargain. Go look at what the project contract projections were, and then what they signed him for. So I still call that part of like the conspiracy theory. That still sounds weak to me, But all that aside, and all those opinions aside that have already been formulated over the last week, plus now, because we’re, you know, we’re long past this already happening at this point in time, but everything that Max Crosby said, the part about them not greeting him and not talking to him, and not, you know, not tapping him up or giving him a handshake, or spending five minutes and having a coffee with them, there’s no explanation for that like that. I can’t sit here and reconcile that with whatever the scenario is that the Ravens did nothing wrong, right? That’s the part where I say, even at best, the interpersonal skills are just very lacking in that instance for someone that you allegedly were so excited about. So I don’t have an explanation for that. I don’t have a defense for that. And I you know, it’s not my job to come up with the defense for that. That part of it is complete. You know, that was the that was the smoking gun takeaway from everything Max Crosby had to say, everything else, the flight, all that difference, you know, his feelings about it, the back and forth later in the day, the fact that the vibes off like the vibe was going to be off if they had concerns about the physical, that’s not, that’s not shocking, even, even if people don’t think it’s on the up and up or or even if it is on the up, up and up, they’re going to feel a certain way. But the lack of a greeting, the lack of a welcoming him into the building, you know, he was only going to be there briefly, and he said he left, and, you know, got imaging done, and you know, they went through the physical so it’s not like he was in the building that entire time, but you know, again, this was a big deal. This is the biggest trade in the history of the franchise. This isn’t

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Nestor Aparicio  09:06

Brock Marion, by the way, right? This isn’t one of those kinds of signings. This was a monumental thing, and it’s, it’s had monumental ripples in the NFL, and I can’t sit here and say that the bears won’t deal with Eric Decosta this summer, next summer, or whatever, but I do think that there is a I wouldn’t deal with Eric DeCosta. I wouldn’t trust him, as far as I can throw him, because he did me unbelievably dirty and publicly so, and I answer to it every day of my life. So why would I defend him, and why would I give him the benefit of the doubt? Why should fans give them the benefit of the doubt this far into this and the part that is curious to me is that your smart football guy, Luke, did you really believe. They were going to sign Hendrickson, and that they stay told Hendrickson, we were going to sign both of you, really, really, I mean, that there was no, there was no chance of that happening. And they knew linderbaum was gone, right? I mean, that was that shit, that money, that they that 20 million a year, whatever, loosely they thought that was, that wasn’t going to him anyway, because he wasn’t coming, right? He was

Luke Jones  10:23

going, No, I will say this, yeah, they could Trey hendrickson’s cap number this year is $15 million would they have done it? Is there a non zero chance of that? Yes, I will say yes. Do I think that was likely? Do I think that was semi realistic, not really that. That’s the part of the explanation, and the you know, the backstory to this, that’s a little Shakespearean in the dust protest, a bit too much, right? That’s the part where, you know that sounds a little too convenient in terms of whether it was truly very realistic, or whether that was okay, if Trey hendrickson’s market dropped lower than it ultimately did, then it’s plausible, right? So, so I hear you on that I want to but it wasn’t impossible. They could have done it. But the question is, were you going to in terms of cash from an average annual value standpoint, going to devote $60 million per year to two edge rushers, one that’s on the wrong side of 30, and the other 29 and you know, whether, whether they were, you know, had as grave a concern about their his knee or not, they were certainly mindful of the knee surgery when they made the trade. They can’t say didn’t, didn’t know. I mean, you do a simple Google search. So, so I’m with you on that in terms of saying very unlikely

Nestor Aparicio  11:48

when they play dumb that you really, really should question How dumb they are, because when they start playing dumb, that’s when they’re bullshitting you like that. That really, is it? So the playing dumb part to that, oh, that’s a trend. That’s, that’s a, that’s an Eric dicostal way of life. I see him do that on the on the podium now with you guys, when I see you know what I mean.

Luke Jones  12:14

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So this is where I am right now in terms of, and, like I said, rehashing the whole thing, people feel how they are going to feel about it at this point, you’re not changing anyone’s mind. I’m not changing anyone’s mind. Everyone has an opinion about it. Like I said, the most relevant thing that Max Crosby revealed was the lack of any kind of communication with the head coach or the general manager when he first arrived. And that’s like I said, even in the best case scenario, in terms of the Ravens having pure, innocent intentions, that’s really weird, right? I mean, that’s the best way you could put it there. So that’s where I look at this. And okay, I’ll humor the conspiracy theories, right? And there’s one thing that hasn’t been brought up. And let me be clear, this is just an idea that’s just been rattling around in my head. What happened on Friday afternoon? You, you and I were at Costas, right? The Friday afternoon five, four hours before news broke of that the Ravens were trading ax. Crosby, Lamar Jackson put a tweet out. No, it was a GIF, right? A GIF whatever. I don’t know if it’s GIF or GIF whatever, whatever the correct pronunciation is, but it was the Alonzo Denzel Washington’s character in training day with boom. And at the time, we even alluded to it on the air when we did some radio. We’re talking about the Orioles at the time. But we were wondering, okay, is this Lamar alluding to contract extension? Maybe, you know, then a few hours later, the Crosby news breaks, and you’re thinking, Okay, well, maybe Lamar, he’s, he’s been in communication. I mean, Eric and him have talked contract. You know, Eric said they quote, ran out of time, right last week. We know that they did a restructure, not an extension. But I do wonder. And again, I’m throwing another conspiracy theory, theory out there, because again, the idea that this was some kind of premeditated thing, or the Ravens preferred Trey Hendrickson, I keep coming back to Then, why didn’t you just try sign Trey Hendrickson to begin with? Right? Why? Why do you want to put your two first round picks even in peril with the idea that Trey Hendrickson could have pulled a fast one on them on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and signed elsewhere? Right? So, so, so here’s the thing. Is it possible that, and we know Eric was talking to Lamar about contract. Is it possible that Lamar had some dialog with Eric, and Eric was talking about things that he was other things he was working on, right? And he brought up Max Crosby, and maybe Lamar said, Oh my gosh. That. It’s the best defensive player I’ve gone against, right? Yada yada yada, four sacks against me in the two times we played. I can’t get, you know, we couldn’t block that guy. I couldn’t get past him. All that. And was there something? Was there? Some thought, in addition to just the fact that Max Crosby’s this tremendous player, like you said, a top three, top five defensive player in the league, wherever you want to put him, he’s in that space but there also could be the bonus that it got your quarterback really excited about solving that issue with the defense, and saying, Hey, look, I put us in position to win games, and our defense can’t protect leads,

Nestor Aparicio  15:34

right? Well, that’s what we were talking about at 715

Luke Jones  15:37

in the morning. So I’m right, so I’m so is there a theory here that the Ravens make a bold move, a bolder move than they’d ever made in franchise history, trading not just one first round pick, but two with the thought of, okay, we’re getting Max Crosby and man, maybe Lamar. Maybe this helps push a Lamar extension across the finish line too. That, you know, we just made a monster commitment on the other side of the ball. And again, hear me out. I’m not saying I’ve heard this from anyone. This is just everyone else has a conspiracy theory. Is there something to the idea that the Raven said, you know, Lamar loves Max Crosby. You know, we’re close. We’ve been talking numbers. Maybe the the dopamine boost that everyone’s getting over the weekend from acquiring Max Crosby, because I even said that about Linder bomb at the time, I thought, you know, is there a Hail Mary last second Hail Mary scenario where you’ve traded for Max Crosby and maybe Tyler Linder bomb takes less to stay in Baltimore. Who knows? Right? I mean, just spitballing here, and then they get to a point two or three days later, and, you know, they don’t get a Lamar extension done, and now you’re starting to think about that in terms of, well, if we don’t get a Lamar extension done, now that’s not there’s no guarantee we’re going to get it done in June or whenever, and we might be needing to have a much more difficult conversation a year from now about Lamar, About Lamar, about his future, whether he wants to be in Baltimore, all that stuff, right? By the way, the cost

Nestor Aparicio  17:05

is saying ran out of time, kind of Boo jaus that they’ve had months, and you either want to be married or you don’t want to be married. You don’t

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Luke Jones  17:13

want to pay the price. But it serves, serves him no purpose, to say that publicly, right? He’s not going to throw his franchise quarterback under the bus, even if he’s frustrated with them, but if, if you thought you were going to get an extension done, and then you don’t, and it’s three days later, and you’re starting to think, Okay, what’s this going to mean for next year? You know, if we couldn’t get an extension done now, are we going to get one done next year? And then you’re starting to think about the scenarios of, what if Lamar is not going to be here beyond the next year or two, I better have my draft pick. Do we want to trade our two first round picks under that scenario? So I don’t know, right? I mean, I don’t think that sounds any any any more ridiculous than that. This was some kind of premeditated, you know, harebrained scheme by the ravens to pull a fast one over on max Crosby and then go sign Trey Hendrickson, right? I mean, so I don’t know maybe it was. I mean, let’s, let’s, let’s remind ourselves that three years ago, the Ravens gave Odell Beckham a ton of guaranteed money for basically, to appease Lamar, right? We called it the Lamar attacks at the time. So I don’t know that was just an idea that popped in my head at the time where I thought, okay, maybe they thought that was going to be something that would help push a Lamar extension across the finish line, and you get max Crosby, and Lamar loves him, and hey, everyone’s excited. And you get your franchise quarterback locked up long term, and we move forward and all that. But then three or four days later, you’re not at that spot, and you’re looking at this thing and you’re saying, oh, you know, if we’re in a position where, if we’re if there’s any, non zero chance that we’re going to lose our franchise quarterback in 12 months or 24 months, we probably want to have as many first round picks as we can find, because we’re going to need a boatload of those to go Find our next quarterback if that, I don’t know, you know again, and I could be completely full of it there, right? I’m not saying that that’s there’s any truth to that. I’m not. But that doesn’t sound any any more ridiculous to me than like, the idea that this was like some premeditated that ravens did either, right? So I don’t know. It’s weird. It’s exhausting, as I said to you. I mean, no one’s convincing anyone of their you know, no one’s changing their mind now, other than, like I said, I mean, the fact that Crosby arrived in the building Tuesday morning, and the head coach, nor that and the general manager couldn’t put 15 minutes aside to go say hello and give them a hug and say, hey, you know, got to do this physical. We got to do our due diligence. But, man, we’re really excited to have you and all that. Best case scenario, that’s bizarre, right? I mean, like, I just, I don’t know what the explanation would be for that. Okay, if Eric Decosta was completely tied up on the phone trying to make three other signings or make another trade. Eight or something like that. Jesse Minter, at the

Nestor Aparicio  20:03

very least, in your way, by the way, Luke and I are here talking about football. It’s opening day week. But what about Basti? You know, he loves his draft picks. He loves the draft. It’s his money. He’s God. Believe me. Believe as much as I’m checked out. You know, I can hear him after the second glass of wine, calling Eric on Saturday night, saying, Hey, we’re giving away first round draft picks here. What do you know we really should be thinking about? Because I don’t know that Eric calls Steve. I guess he does, and I guess I was excited or not.

Luke Jones  20:36

I mean, we know

Nestor Aparicio  20:38

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he changed his mind. Eric has to wear it.

Luke Jones  20:43

Look it’s plausible. I mean, we’re all trying to make sense of this, right? I mean, there’s no matter your overall, the overall theme, you know your anyone’s given thesis, right? Whatever their thesis is on, on what actually happened, there are parts of this that make you scratch your head. There’s no question that’s a possibility. We know that the summit had taken place in Florida that week leading into that Friday night. I can’t fathom that Eric makes that trade without Steve being very aware of what they’re doing. But to your point, maybe he had cold feet about it. No again. There we, we just, we just threw out two other theories that haven’t necessarily been discussed at length. And, you know, I think there’s, you know, some plausible, you know, elements of that, yeah, could be there, right? I mean, so I don’t know.

Nestor Aparicio  21:40

Well, here’s here’s two things that I’ve been germinating the last couple days. Trey Hendrickson, in, how do you feel about the football team? They were at eight and nine football team. They fired their coach. Had an injured quarterback. They’ve got aging problems, some cap issues, with some big numbers. We sit here and we talk about Ronnie Stanley and Mark Andrews and Marlon Humphrey and Roke wansman. We go through all the usual Linder bombs gone. We have to worry about him anymore. Now it’s a flowers you know, maybe I run in him at PWI next week. I’ll challenge him to a that can lock him down, but they’re gonna have to give him money or not give him money, right? And they got a new coach. And I don’t know, I don’t know where the leash is with the fans, dude, you know what I mean? Like, we’ll get into this with the baseball season and where the Orioles are, and the cosmos of how the fans feel, and how they feel about pulling their credit cards out and going to the games and like all that, and and their the belief that they can actually win. I think you and I sit here right now with the Orioles, and we think and we can make it, and we will, we’ll make a case that they can win. I mean, I, I feel like things could break their way. Rogers, Bradish, the pitching, the big bats, the one ones getting holiday, back and westward. I’ll make all of that case, get Alonso beat Alonso. Pete Alonso. I’ll make a case that the that the Orioles are a credible contender of whatever magnitude that is. Where are the Ravens right now, dude? And they got a draft yet, and they still have their draft pick now, and they don’t have the quarterback really signed. So they didn’t get the cap relief they really wanted to get. They didn’t get the rush edge they really wanted. They got a 32 year old guy who also had injury problems, who dressed up real nice and looked good in the suit last week, and I’m assuming you were out there for that. Are, how are they as a football team? And then I’ll abridge that and add to that and saying, Would they have been a better football team in week six, if Max Crosby’s playing in week six, not week one, because week one is the 14th pick in the draft. It might even be, might be a center, might be anybody that helps their defense, right. It could be anything that they draft right. They could draft a tight end, who knows? Right? They’re not saying they’re going to draft a rush edge at 14, or they’re going to draft the impact defensive player at 14. But wherever they are, where are they? What do we what do we believe about their top side that you and I got all oiled up about Max Crosby being a game changing piece for them? I’m not going to feel that way about the 14th rat pick, and I don’t feel that way about Trey Henderson. And I like Trey Hendrickson. And I think he’s a, he’s a an injury risk as well. You know, in whatever way to say that, is he going to play 16 games, 17 games this year? Is he going to have nine sacks, 12 sacks pressures? Is he or is he the other part of the Kyle Hamilton thing that Jesse Minter feels like he can really drive to make the defense better than it was last year, because wasn’t very good. So we’re talking about a team here that went very good, got his coach fired, wanted to get the quarterback done. We’ve been talking about it for a year and a half. Didn’t happen, ran out of time. Yeah, right. I. Um and, and they’re going to have their pick. Are they a better football team in week six, week eight, with Hendrickson in the 14th pick? Are they a better football team with it with, if Max Crosby’s on the field? Forget long term his his knee cleans up. He checks out. He gets ready in the end of August. He, you know, maybe he’s a 30 or 40 snap guy the first couple weeks to get kind of going or whatever. But once you get into the meat of the season and you’re three and three, four and two, five and one, two and four, whatever you are, that you would have Max Crosby coming after the quarterback every week, not Trey Henderson and the 14th pick. Are they a better football team here and now to win now in the one year that they still have Lamar?

Luke Jones  25:47

I mean, if you’re saying it’s a healthy Max Crosby, healthy Max Crosby’s better than Trey Hendrickson, and it’s not, it’s not terribly close. It’s why they were at least faking the idea that they were giving up two first round picks for him, right? You know. And again, I still go back to that where it’s just like, you know, I’ll wholeheartedly reject the idea that, like, you know, that they started out with something, you know, weird intentions, you know, I don’t know what happened along the way exactly, but Max Crosby’s a better football player. But I would also say this, you know, let’s also call a spade a spade. The Ravens go as Lamar goes. If Lamar is healthy, they’re a really good football team. And I don’t really even need to know too many of the details beyond that, because history has said when he’s healthy and upright and playing, they’re a really good football team, even with some weaknesses here and there, even if Trey

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Nestor Aparicio  26:50

Henderson’s hurt week three, there’s still a good football team from Mars playing right? Let’s, I mean,

Luke Jones  26:55

let’s face it, they went. They started one in five. They were seven and four after that. Now I’m not saying that that’s worthy of a parade, but they were a better team when Lamar came back. And I was even with Lamar less than 100% right?

Nestor Aparicio  27:07

And, well, he gave a chance to win that night in Pittsburgh alone, just just this game in Pittsburgh, the pass going over everybody’s head, pulling those kinds of miracles like they they have a chance, but are they a better football team?

Luke Jones  27:20

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Well, I mean, we’re gonna find out. I don’t know who they’re gonna pick with the 14th pick, right? I mean, you know? I mean, it’s there are a lot of variables at work here. You know, what are they going to do with their offensive line? You know, I like some of the moves they’ve made in free agency. I mean, and let me be clear, when I’m saying that Max Crosby’s a better player, and I don’t think it’s terribly close. Doesn’t mean Trey Hendrickson is not a heck of a pass rusher. He’s just not the every down disrupter across the board that Max Crosby is. Max Crosby is not just a great pass rusher, he’s an elite run defender. He’s the kind of guy that disrupts games to the point where you’re literally running the ball away from him on plays, right? Trey Hendrickson is not that guy. Trey and Trey Hendrickson is not a guy that’s going to play every single snap. He’s going to be more in that vein of you know, he’s going to play two series and then have a series off or two series and start the next series on the sideline and then come in on third down. Right? He’s not going to be a guy that’s playing 95% of the snaps in the way that Crosby has has done at his best when he’s at his healthiest. So so it is a different player, but it’s also a player that you didn’t give up two first round picks for. So who are they getting there? I think they’ve done some good work with their defense at this point in time. Hendrickson certainly helps their pass rush immensely. It’s way better than Draymond Jones, way better than odafe away, way better than Kyle van Noy. It’s not max Crosby, but you’re talking about a select few in the league who are max. And you know, the Ravens pace based on how they feel. And the other thing that I would say about this, as much as other teams around the league might be saying things you know as unnamed sources to reporters around the league. Where are all these other teams lining up to trade for Trey or to trade for Max Crosby? Then if, if this whole thing is BS you know, the two

Nestor Aparicio  29:13

number ones is stiff. It is but for anybody, but there’s been no two number ones is different for other organizations and the Ravens that think the two number ones are a team and a 20s, that that’s different than an eight and a 14. I think,

Luke Jones  29:29

noted, noted, but I still, you know, if, if the Ravens were, are completely full of it, I I just find it hard to believe there’s not another team trying to go land Max Crosby, I don’t know. Like, that’s just another thing that makes me wonder about, you know what, what the actual truth is, right, between the two extremes, and then, you know, where is it on the sliding scale? Somewhere, you know, between one extreme and the other, right? Because, well,

Nestor Aparicio  29:53

it’s one thing to say he’s a little banged up and on crutches, and we’re a little bit dubious than it is to say we brought him in for. Were physical and he’s falling apart. We don’t want him. That’s a different thing, sure,

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Luke Jones  30:04

but, but again, if all these, you know, all these unnamed GMs in front office, types around the league are saying what the Ravens did was shady and not right, and they’re full of it, then go get max Crosby. Then right? I mean, no one’s trying to do that. And we know that there were other doctors that the Ravens solicited opinions from, including the Cowboys team doctor, I don’t know. Again, that part of it, we can go around in circles, and everyone feels how they’re going to feel about it. That part of it’s over, right? And we’re going to find out. We won’t necessarily find out the 100% every single detail of the truth in terms of process, of how it went down, but we’re going to find out whether the Ravens ended up doing something smart, or if Max Crosby ends up being a stud for five more years and Trey hendrickson’s Just kind of pretty good dude every

Nestor Aparicio  30:50

time they draft some kid like Starks or Wiggins the last couple years. Man, they are. They are high five and kissing each other and smooch and can’t wait to get downstairs and tell you about it at 11 o’clock in April, whatever, to think that they didn’t greet.

Luke Jones  31:07

It’s weird. I have no explanation for that, right? I cannot. I’m I’m trying to look at this in as reasonable fashion as I can. I don’t have an explanation for that. That, like I said, at best, it shows sorely lacking interpersonal skills for someone that’s going to be one of your franchise leaders moving forward, right? So everything that happened after that, you know, later in the day, and Crosby talking about the vibe being off and all that, like, that’s that’s in line with whatever you know, whatever happened, right? They’re going to feel that way, whether they were thrilled about it and truly were completely gutted about what they saw with the with the physical or not, right? At that point, yeah, the vibe is going to be off. But from Jump Street to not greet him, I don’t have a reasonable explanation there, right? Like I said, at best, it shows poor interpersonal skills from your the leaders of your your football team, you know, in the front office and coaching staff, so but you know, to get back to your question about this team and whether they’re better. You know, not just Hendrickson, they resigned to Woozi a I thought that was a good move. I said to you, they needed another starting caliber outside coin, right? I thought he was actually one of the bright spots of their defense last year, especially for as cheaply as they signed him. I mean, all the, all the buzz for Jair Alexander a woosier was 10 times the signing that he was. So, I mean, you know, so they did

Nestor Aparicio  32:42

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also, you know, har ball and monk had running off and signing a bunch of their players too. Is also, you know, they had, this is a big Exodus, you know, for an eight, nine team that didn’t do, it’s been, it’s been a wild 10 weeks for the franchise, I think, right, since they lost to Pittsburgh.

Luke Jones  32:59

Sure, every, every off season is an exodus for them, though. I mean, they, they’re always losing guys, and you just kind of set, you know, you kind of just poke holes in the idea of that being a big concern. Well, they were eight, nine. I mean, they shouldn’t be over, overly sentimental about some of these guys that they lost. Now, that’s not to say that there weren’t a few guys that, in a perfect world you wouldn’t have resigned. And I will say this, the number of players that joined John Harbaugh in New York leads me to think, as we’ve said at the times the over the top, that he completely lost the locker room and everything. Well, you know, goes back to what I said. I think everyone was frustrated, think everyone was tired, and I think it was time for some change, and I that that still will be my default when trying to put a bow on the John Harbaugh era the end of it, right? Not the not to sum up the entire legacy or anything like that, but you know what? So they lost guys, sure, but mentioned, my favorite signing that they’ve made so far is Jalen Hawkins, safety from the patriots, who I think is a better player than a low. He Gilman came in cheaper than a low. He Gilman going to the chiefs, and he, you know, I liked our Darius Washington, but he’s off injured. And you know, Hawkins, the guy who played really well for the Patriots. I mean, patriots went out, they won. They added a veteran to that room, Bayard, you know, they want, they wanted not a grown up, because that would imply that there is immaturity there. I think they just wanted someone with a little more cache to help lead that defense. But Hawkins played really well for them, and I think he’s a guy that will slide right into playing center field a lot of too high with Malachi Starks, and it allows them to keep Kyle Hamilton doing what he does best, which is playing closer to the line of scrimmage and moving him all around and using him as the Swiss Army knife that he is. So they did that. So I like some of the early moves on the defense. You know, covered the covered three moves there. The row line is still, you know, I still. Look at the other line. I mean, you know what my initial reaction on John Simpson, it’s fine. Do I think it’s something that moves the needle in terms of really making that offense

Nestor Aparicio  35:11

better, right at all? No.

Luke Jones  35:13

I mean, is he an upgrade over over Voorhees, yes. Do I think he’s on the cusp of being a pro bowl player. No, still have no idea who their center is going to be. I mean, they’ve gone out and they’ve signed a couple, you know, Javon Gwin. They brought in who was with, you know, with Ledford in Atlanta, you know. So they have someone who’s familiar with the new offensive line coach, but, you know, he’s been a backup. They brought in Danny Pinter. He’s been a backup, you know, I think he, you know, if you strike out, if the draft goes horribly wrong in terms of landing a center, could Danny Pinter be the starter, I I guess. But boy, your, your offensive line is worse than it was a year ago, right? So, so, you know, they need to bring in some competition for emerald. How their offensive

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Nestor Aparicio  36:02

line is going to be better than it was last year by losing Tyler linderbaum and having another and having another year on Ronnie Stanley,

Luke Jones  36:09

and that’s another year really, on

Nestor Aparicio  36:10

Mark Andrews and whatever Ricard brought and, you know, from a blocking standpoint, and another year on the tread of Derek Henry. Look, if I were a fan of theirs, and I’m not anymore, but if I were, I’d be frustrated. I would be looking at this, and you and I are going to be looking at this for the next six months, talking about this, because they’re an eight, nine team with a new coach and an offseason that has now really hit the wall right, like in this Crosby thing, they are the biggest story in football the last two weeks because of this. And Hendrickson fine, but they didn’t make their football team better. They’re not a better football team than they were 10 weeks ago. Right this minute, they aren’t, and that’s the part that you’d like to think that you turn the corner on free agency. They were a better football team the morning we woke up with Max Crosby in our minds. If he plays right, if he shot his knee, shot he’s never going to play again, that’s a different gig. I don’t think anybody believes that.

Luke Jones  37:12

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Let’s, let’s not undersell Trey Hendrickson, you know, prior to this past year, and I get it, you know, he had a hip, you know, core muscle issue, had a nasty contract dispute with the Bengals that absolutely factored in here. He wasn’t rushing to get back on the field, like, if we’re going to take full blown truth serum here, wasn’t rushing to get back on the field, considering what that situation was. And let’s, let’s call spade a spade, what the Bengals have been, you know, their front office, their ownership is cheap, pure and simple, right? So, but we’re talking about someone who had back to back 17 and a half sack seasons prior to that, not six years ago, in 2023 and 2024 that’s more than what the Ravens franchise single season record is. Doomerville was 17 back in 2014 so No, he’s not max Crosby. But let’s also not, you know, this isn’t a marginal upgrade over Kyle Vannoy. This is, this is the best edge rusher they’ve had in quite some time. And they’re paying, I mean, they’re paying them $28 million a year for that, right? So, but that said, I mean, I’m not going to sit here and make some bold assessment of where they are a week and a half into free you know, a week in the free agency. I mean, the Ravens never win the offseason in that way, right? You know what you said about the offensive line. I concur, but I will also say that’s why they brought in new coaches, right? We’ve talked about this, you know, the idea that this coaching staff was not very good last year, right? And I’m not talking singling out John horrible by himself. I’m talking about collectively, the coaching staff left a lot to be desired. They didn’t play like a well coached football team. That’s part of the reason why they made changes. So they are looking for Dwayne Ledford to really coach up this O line. I’ve said it, you know, excluding head coach and coordinators, I think Dwayne Ledford is the most important position coach on this football team right now, because even if they land their center in the draft, or, let’s say hypothetically, they trade for a starting center, right, even, even if that’s in the cards, right, they’re still going to be counting on at least one or two young players to pop here, whether we’re talking about Roger Rosengarten taking the next step and looking like he could be a guy on the on the fringe of being a pro bowl player, whether it’s talking About Emory Jones becoming the right guard, you know? And I still think they need to bring in very serious competition for him. But hey, he was the third round pick last year. That’s not, you know. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a starting player. Marshall yonda Was someone taken at that point in the draft, right? And became a Hall of Fame caliber guard. So I. Ups, but they’re going to be, they’re going to be question marks. There’s no question about that, but I’ll continue to go back to they have Lamar Jackson right, and they have Kyle Hamilton, and they’ve added Trey Hendrickson on the defensive side, and you still have Derek Henry right, and you’re, you’re hoping that a new coaching staff and new fresh eyes, new brains, fresh perspective, are going to be able to extract more out of some of these guys. I’m hoping Dwayne Ledford can get one more really good year out of Ronnie Stanley, right? Ronnie Stanley wasn’t bad this past year. He wasn’t a Pro Bowl player. But, you know, can he be that, guy who has one more really good year, if you do that in concert with adding some young guys and coaching them up, then yeah, that that adds up to not the best O line in the NFL, but an O line that’s better, right? Because you’re not starting Voorhees and and file lay, lay at the guard spots, and you know, hopefully you find some center that is capable, right? It’s not going to be Tyler Linder bomb, but so, you know, and this also goes to, what about the rest of the division? What about the rest of the AFC, right? I mean, all of that Denver made a heck of a move. I think adding Jalen waddle, right? They make a big trade. And, you know, you’re starting to get the sense that maybe Denver is going to be viewed as one of the favorites going into the season, not one of, I mean, they’re going to be one of the favorites in the AFC. But still comes back to the quarterback position, right? Lamar Jackson’s healthy, and he hits it off with Declan Doyle, and they add another receiver to the mix. And, you know, maybe they signed David and joku. You know, who they visited with recently, or, you know, draft a tight end who ends up being the next mark Andrews, or the next Isaiah likely. Then, you know, then they’re, they’re cooking with gas again, right? Then, then they’re looking like the kind of team that can come out of the AFC. So we’re going to find out. There are a lot of unknowns. I’m not going to sit here and say everything’s fine that I don’t have any questions whatsoever.

Nestor Aparicio  42:01

It’s marches. I mean, I’ll get it. It’s

Luke Jones  42:03

March, yeah. I mean, they’re not playing up the old Ozzie Newsome line, and I use this probably in our last conversation. But you know, last time I checked, they don’t play another football game for almost six months. So, but yeah, they’ve got work to do. And even if you erase what happened with Max Crosby from memory? And you just said, three weeks ago, if I had told you they signed Trey Hendrickson, you say, all right, that that boosts the pass rush. But, you know, there’s disappointment, because the idea of adding Max Crosby as a force multiplier, right, a guy that is Terrell Suggs in this prime, you know, we were kind of using that comparison. No, you don’t have that. So, yeah, it does feel like, you know, it was a buzz kill, right? And Trey Hendrickson feels like a consolation prize, but Trey Hendrickson has been a heck of a football player the last five, six years, so I don’t want to completely dismiss that and say that that doesn’t move the needle, because I think it absolutely does. Sure they still have some other things they have to figure out. There’s no doubt about that. But that said, I’m also not looking at the rest of the AFC north and saying, Oh, watch out for the Bengals now they’ve they’ve magically fixed their defense, or Steelers, who I think have made some other good moves, but if Aaron Rodgers is still the quarterback, I still think there’s very much a ceiling on that, right? So there’s still very much an opportunity for this team to make moves, get better, get themselves back to a position where they’re more accustomed to being, and then hoping that your new coaching staff will be able to move the needle in some ways that maybe the old staff could not.

Nestor Aparicio  43:40

Aren’t you really glad that I didn’t make you do an hour or two on Venezuela beating United States? And I know,

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Luke Jones  43:47

you know, it’s funny. I I talked to my brother in law a lot about the World Baseball Classic, and I said to him at a couple of different points, I said, Okay, everyone’s talking about the US. Everyone’s talking about Japan, obviously, and everyone’s talking about the Dominican lineup, I said to him a couple times, Venezuela’s better than people think. Look at that team. I didn’t think they were going to win at all, let me be clear. But man, good for them. I mean, it was fun controversy about gunner. Long Term lesson from this, gunner’s got to get better against left handed pitching, which that’s something that’s pertinent to the Orioles much more than Team USA. The last few long term

Nestor Aparicio  44:25

for me is I’m glad Mark DeRosa is not the Orioles manager.

Luke Jones  44:28

I you know what I’ll say about Mark de Rosa. I really enjoy watching him on MLB Network, and I’ll leave it

Nestor Aparicio  44:34

at that. All right. He’s Luke Jones. I’m Nestor. I’ll be back soon. Follow along. If there’s any breaking news, you get it first on the wnsd tech service. All brought to you by our friends at cold roofing and Gordian energy. Special shout out to foreign and Dermer, our friends for bringing all of our sports coverage full circle as we’re getting ready for opening day. He’s Luke. I’m Nestor. We’re wnsda in 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore positive. We’re.