Report: Ravens consulted Cowboys team doctor before backing out of Maxx Crosby trade

Maxx Crosby will not be a Baltimore Raven after all. While not too many people are happy with Baltimore, Crosby is heading back to the Las Vegas Raiders in a stunning turn of events. Two first-round picks were supposed to head out West but instead, due to a failed physical, the trade is off.

Turns out, the Ravens received some outside help when going through the medical process. Another team’s doctor, Daniel Cooper of the Dallas Cowboys, was involved in the process. Jane Slater of the NFL Network explained how.

“Adam Schefter put this out yesterday and I’ve been working to independently verify to what extent,” Slater said. “Doctor Daniel Cooper is the Cowboys’ team doctor. He is a knee specialist. He has taken on several cases of more complicated knees. I mean, Jaylon Smith comes to mind. As Adam Schefter describes it, he consulted with the Ravens on those physicals and the MRIs and that ultimately led to the Ravens stepping away.”

Crosby finished the 2025 season on injured reserve. Reporting indicates that his miniscus was the issue, needing to work through the rehab process during the offseason. Tom Pelissero, also of the NFL Network, pointed out how every team out there knew of this when Crosby was put on the trade block.

“Everyone knew that he had a knee injury,” Pelissero said. “Everyone knew he finished on injured reserve. Everyone knew, based on Ian (Rapoport)’s reporting that he had a miniscus surgery that was actually not a trim but a miniscus repair that has a longer term type of a timeline. But that did not stop several teams from offering a first-round pick and more as part of a trade offer.”

Now, all kinds of questions exist about next steps for both the Ravens and Raiders. Baltimore answered at least some of them early Wednesday morning, signing Trey Hendrickson. The former Cincinnati Bengals star makes his way elsewhere in the NFC North. A four-year contract puts the Ravens in a similar financial situation as if Crosby were on the roster.

Las Vegas gets to decide if they want to keep Crosby after spending significant money over the past couple of days in free agency. Once again trading him could be an option if other teams across the league are still interested. Reports indicate the asking price is going to be just as high, though, wanting two first-round picks.