Well a bombshell has just dropped on NFL free agency. I honestly don't even know how far the shock waves will reach. But things just got very complicated.
I'm going to the Ravens! Ummmmm no you're not.
In possibly the biggest move of the off season... which doesn't even really start until tomorrow the Baltimore Ravens acquired Maxx Crosby (yes he has two "x's" because he's just that cool) from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for two number 1 draft picks. That is a huge haul for a 29 year old pass rusher with a ton of miles on his body.
Well it turns out those miles might have been a little rougher than previously thought. in a shocking move, the Baltimore ravens just canceled the trade. It seems Maxx Crosby failed the pre-trade physical that is required before a trade can be completed. Although they have not revealed details, Crosby played all of last season with a torn meniscus in his knee. The crazy man that he is just played through the pain until the Raiders finally forced him to sit out the last two games. Dang that man is tough! Although we are not sure if it is that knee or just the fact the guy plays like a man on fire every down and probably has a ton of damage to his body, clearly the problem was big enough to cause the Ravens to back out.
OK. So what? The Ravens get their picks back and Crosby is back on the Raiders. But here is where it gets complicated.
After believing they had cleared about $31 million off of their salary cap, the Raiders went shopping. They VERBALLY agreed to contracts with: Linebacker Quay Walker, Linebacker Nakobe Dean, Edge rusher Kwitty Paye, Edge Rusher Malcolm Koonce and corner back Eric Stokes. Oh and they also made Tyler Linderbaum the highest paid center in NFL history by offering him a three year $81 million contract.
Uh oh. With Crosby's $31 back on the books, the Raiders can't sign all of those guys. This is an unmitigated disaster. Not only do the Raiders not get the two first round picks, but now the whole league knows Crosby is damaged goods. This is also terrible for all the free agents they had promised to sign. Those free agents 'came off the market" and other teams that may have been interested spent their money elsewhere. It will most likely cost those guys quite a bit of money even though they did nothing wrong. Good luck getting a free agent to trust the Raiders any time soon. But to be honest they were foolish to trust any organize that involves that slime ball Tom Brady. If you are wondering why I would call Brady a slime ball, just Google Alex Guererro, Brady's personal "body coach" and scumbag who lied to sick people and told them his product could cure cancer. Brady brought this quack to the Raiders last year. I guess his mystical medicine couldn't cure Crosby... but anyway.
Back to the NFL. This utter fuck up is going to cause a ton of problems for the rest of free agency. I don't know if your favorite team was impacted, but we will find out in the coming weeks exactly what dominoes fall after this one. Although it is possible that the Ravens will just offer less compensation and the deal still goes through. Either way, what a mess.