The Baltimore Ravens are facing a season unlike any in recent memory in 2026, where so many reputations and legacies are on the line that it takes some effort to sort out all the storylines.
Perhaps the most compelling 1 of all is the legacy of general manager Eric DeCosta — perhaps the most hated executive in the entire NFL after an offseason of perceived treachery.
It’s DeCosta’s defining move this offseason that ESPN’s Seth Walder singled out as the move he both liked and disliked the most for the Ravens in his annual offseason grades for all 32 NFL teams — the botched trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for NFL All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
Backing Out of Trade May Have Saved Ravens’ Season
In saying he disliked the attempted trade for Crosby, Walder also praised DeCosta for possibly saving the Ravens’ season by signing edge rusher Trey Hendrickson to a 4-year, $112 million contract, then signing defensive tackle Calais Campbell to a 1-year, $5.5 million contract. Both moves were made after the Crosby deal fell apart.
“The Ravens’ biggest move was one they didn’t ultimately make: trading for Crosby,” Walder wrote on June 30. “The trade — in which they sent two first-round picks to Las Vegas — was a bad deal for the Ravens, who would have been giving up major draft capital for the right to pay a player in the second half of his career. We’ll never know whether or not that had anything to do with the trade being called off, but the deal fell through and the Ravens quickly turned their attention to Hendrickson. In a vacuum, the Hendrickson signing — for $28 million per year with $60 million fully guaranteed — was fine, if slightly overpriced considering the risks he brings with his age (31). But it was a much better deal than the one proposed for Crosby, for the simple fact that it doesn’t cost the Ravens two first-rounders. Hendrickson isn’t nearly the same player Crosby is in the run game, but that difference was not worth all the extra draft capital.”
Ravens, DeCosta Called Out Following Botched Trade
The reason the Ravens gave for backing out of the Crosby trade fell flat with many — mainly because it seemed like DeCosta was lying through his teeth.
In the DeCosta version of events, he didn’t realize how extensive the damage was to Crosby’s surgically repaired knee until the 5-time Pro Bowler flew to Baltimore to meet with team doctors after the trade had already been agreed to.
“With what Maxx Crosby said (on Tuesday), it makes Eric DeCosta and the Ravens look worse than I originally thought,” NFL reporter Chase Senior said on March 18. ” … how about this, he was in the Ravens facility for 5 hours and didn’t meet Eric DeCosta once. After he flew across the country. After you made a trade of 2 1st round picks for him. After he became one of the faces of your franchise. What are we doing here? Spare me with the ‘it almost brought me to tears’ … bull (expletive).”
One of the interesting revelations from the Crosby saga was that most people never liked dealing with DeCosta or the Ravens.
“What’s come out of this is there is a universal disdain in the NFL for Eric DeCosta,” ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark said on March 12. “Nobody has come out and backed (DeCosta) as trustworthy and honest.”
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