NFL Offseason Turns Chaotic After Maxx Crosby Trade Gets Nixed

The start of NFL free agency is usually a wild ride, and things just turned chaotic after a trade from several days ago got nixed.

Let's start by breaking down the ramifications of the broken Raiders, Ravens trade and then discuss some more free agency moves. Here's the last story we did - that has links to the first three stories we did on Monday.

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Crosby Trade Axed

Reports are that Maxx Crosby failed his physical with the Ravens, so the trade that happened on Friday is no longer valid. The deal that sent him to Baltimore for two first-round picks is no longer happening.

All trades are contingent on physicals being passed, but with Crosby coming off a notable knee injury, reports are that he was never likely to pass a physical at this time. 

It has a big-time ripple effect across the league, including with both teams.

After shipping out Crosby, the Raiders went ballistic in free agency, signing Tyler Linderbaum, Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Kwity Paye and Jalen Nailor, while re-signing Eric Stokes and Malcolm Koonce. 

It appears that the Raiders have enough cap space to make all those moves, even with Crosby around, but after already trading him once, the relationship between player and team isn't going to be great, so Las Vegas will likely try to trade Crosby again.

If they end up finding a team that will take on the risk of a rehabbing Crosby, the return likely isn't going to be two first-round picks.

The failed trade also hurt the Ravens, who only have made two signings, and one was re-signing backup quarterback Tyler Huntley. John Simpson was an outside free agent signing, and helps the Ravens fortify their offensive line after losing Linderbaum.

Baltimore lost Ar'Darius Washington, Isaiah Likely, Jordan Stout, Charlie Kolar, Alohi Gilman and Dre'Mont Jones in addition to Linderbaum. That's not surprising seeing that there's a new coaching staff in Baltimore, but the Ravens are really hurting now that Crosby isn't on their roster.

The Cowboys were a team heavily linked to Crosby, but they pivoted and traded for Rashan Gary in a deal with the Packers. Maybe they could re-route Gary to Las Vegas in a deal for Crosby, or things could get really wild if the Cowboys nix that trade to go after Crosby.

Other teams across the league wanted Crosby too, and now might not have enough cap space for him after some free agent signings. Those don't become official until today, so deals could fall through all over the place - like I said, chaos.

Whatever ends up happening, there's likely to be rules put in place before next offseason to avoid this situation happening ever again.

Notable Free Agency Moves

A lot of the best free agents were scooped up on Monday, so it wasn't a surprise to see things slow down on Tuesday. There's a handful of deals to break down though.

We will break things down into two sections, moves for offensive and defense players. Let's get to it before wrapping up here.

Defensive Signings

The Packers got some secondary help after locking up cornerback Benjamin St-Juste on a two-year deal worth $10 million. Green Bay later released Nate Hobbs, so they are revamping their cornerback room.

The Jets added a cornerback as well, getting Nahshon Wright for $5.5 million over a year. New York has been busy revamping its team, and it should be better on paper than it was a year ago. Wright will help out on defense and in that secondary on a pretty cheap deal.

The Bears effectively filled Wright's spot by signing Cam Lewis to a two-year deal. Chicago has lost a lot of talent this offseason, but has been able to add some players in free agency to fill some voids.

The Saints made another splash, signing Kaden Elliss to a three-year deal. New Orleans has made a couple free agency moves, and are definitely putting themselves in the mix for a playoff push in 2026.

Philly added another secondary piece with a one-year signing of Riq Woolen. The Eagles have mostly signed their own guys, but this move gives the team another good secondary player, and that unit should continue to thrive in 2026.

Washington signed linebacker Leo Chenal to a three-year deal. After missing the playoffs this past season, the Commanders have brought in several players already this offseason, so they should be back in the playoff mix if they stay healthy in 2026.

Offensive Signings

A day after being released from the Packers, offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins found a new home with the Browns - he signed a two-year deal with them. He's the fourth lineman the team has acquired in some fashion this offseason, so clearly that was a need for the team. We'll see if the Browns get better o-line play in 2026 as a result.

The only other noteworthy signings (that we haven't already discussed) on offense were for backup quarterbacks. Detroit added back Teddy Bridgewater, while Sam Howell signed with Dallas. 

Other QB signings this offseason (that we haven't covered already) are Shane Buechele to the Bills, Mitchell Trubisky to the Titans, Sam Ehlinger to the Broncos, Marcus Mariota to the Commanders, Case Keenum to the Bears, Kenny Pickett to the Panthers and Gardner Minshew to the Cardinals.

None of those quarterbacks are expected to start, but injuries could change that. It's worth mentioning who went where as a result.