The NFL world’s top nearly blew off when the Baltimore Ravens traded for superstar EDGE Maxx Crosby, and when the trade got called off, it did. All of a sudden, one of the league’s best players had returned to the team that traded him just days later. Experts and players have had plenty to say about the situation, including current free-agent pass rusher Kyle Van Noy.
What Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Kyle Van Noy Said About the Maxx Crosby Trade Reversal
While joining Jim Rome on his podcast, Van Noy said, “I’m excited to see how he comes back. I think he’s gonna come back with vengeance. You know something about Maxx that separates him is that he had something that he was dealing with outside of football, something, you know, fighting demons that are bigger than football. And so his light to prove to himself, the weight he carries, the light he carries for others that’ll get bigger.”
After the botched trade, Crosby will be more motivated than ever to continue proving himself, though it’ll be difficult for him to improve on his 95.3 PFSN EDGE Impact grade, which ranked second in the NFL, only 0.3 points behind Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
Van Noy also spoke about Crosby’s battles outside of football, including his recent six-year sobriety milestone.
Now that Crosby is back on the Raiders, they seem to have finally given him enough help to make the Silver and Black more than a one-man show on defense.
They aggressively upgraded the front seven, signing sideline-to-sideline linebacker Quay Walker from the Green Bay Packers, as well as high-IQ linebacker Nakobe Dean from the Philadelphia Eagles, who majorly improved their defense when he got healthy.
Defensive line-wise, they nabbed EDGE Kwity Paye from the Indianapolis Colts, who’s been slightly underwhelming as a first-round pick, though his best ball should be ahead of him.
On top of that, they re-signed their top cornerback Eric Stokes, kept Crosby’s partner in crime in Malcolm Koonce, and traded for one of the better nickels in the league in Taron Johnson.
While these moves won’t automatically make the Raiders a top-10 defense, the pieces and coaching staff are in place to improve what was the 21st-ranked unit in the league, according to PFSN’s Defense Impact rankings.
Now, with Fernando Mendoza set to be the team’s franchise quarterback, joining several upgraded positions on offense, Crosby and the Raiders will look to build on their promising future.
