With defensive end Maxx Crosby’s $30 million compensation package for 2026 back on the books, the Raiders have an issue. They busted the budget in a barrage of free-agency signings.
They spent like drunken sailors (or, as the case may be, drunken Tom Brady after a Super Bowl boat parade). Technically, the Raiders can back out of any, some, or all of the deals done with center Tyler Linderbaum, cornerback Eric Stokes, receiver Jalen Nailor, edge rushers Kwity Paye and Malcolm Koonce, and linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. (The Raiders could also back out of the trade with the Bills for cornerback Taron Johnson.)
Remember this — as to the contracts negotiated during the negotiating window, nothing is done until the new league year begins. Either side can back out. Players have exercised their prerogative to do so in the past. In 2015, for example, running back Frank Gore backed out of a tentative deal with the Eagles. (He later signed with the Colts.)
Via Albert Breer of SI.com, the Raiders will “honor all the agreements” negotiated since Monday, even though those deals were done under the impression that Crosby’s contract would be exiting the books. Again, they don’t have to finalize any of the contract. They could explain to the agents for the impending free agents that circumstances have dramatically changed, thanks to the Ravens “backing out” of the trade for Crosby.
Plausible as the excuse would be, it would go over like a wet fart on a dry day in a hot church. The agents would be very pissed. Depending upon the size and influence of the agencies involved, it could lead to serious consequences as to other clients represented by the impacted firms.
That said, all new players will have to pass a physical. As we learned last night, no one knows what a physical will show. Could one or more of the new players fail their physicals? That would be a legitimate way to technically honor the agreements — even if it would be met with the same kind of skepticism the Ravens have endured.
Although the Raiders have the right to restructure Crosby’s 2026 compensation to reduce the cap hit for 2026, the money will be paid from a predetermined cash budget. Whatever they had allocated for Monday’s spending spree will have another $30 million added to it.
That’s a problem for the Raiders. It’s one of the reasons why last night’s tweet oozed with animosity for the Ravens. We’re told that, as of last night, the Raiders were working hard to figure out what to do next. If they will indeed be keeping Crosby, they’ll need to shake Mark Davis’s couch cushions for another $30 million that they didn’t expect to spend this year.
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