One of the most hardy and consistent players in the game the last half decade has been the Las Vegas Raiders' Maxx Crosby, who had not missed a game through his first five seasons and was coming off a career 2023 campaign last year.
Unfortunately, that streak of games played finally ended in 2024, and nagging ankle issues forced Crosby to get surgery in mid-December.
Now back on the field at the Raiders offseason workouts five months later, Crosby is ready to put the frustrating and unfamiliar experience behind him and get back to terrorizing opposing quarterbacks.
"It's amazing. I mean I feel like a little kid out there, you know what I mean? I miss it," Crosby said Wednesday. "The rehab literally started in December, I literally didn't have an offseason, I've been here the whole time. It's been five months of hardcore training and rehabbing every single day, and sacrificing even more [to see] how can I go to an even higher level."
Crosby was off to a strong start in 2024 despite playing through the ankle ailment for most of the season, only missing one game in the first 14 weeks and leading the Raiders in sacks and quarterback hits. But after aggravating the injury things changed, ultimately leading to Crosby getting shut down with four games left so that he could have surgery.
He finished with 12 games played, 7.5 sacks, 45 tackles and 20 quarterback hits, all of which were his worst numbers since his second season in 2020. His production before getting shut down was nevertheless enough to be named to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.
"Last year was definitely one of the hardest years of my life in general -- so many things going on, battling injuries, not being able to be myself at times, I felt like," Crosby said. "There's no excuses. It's just tough. It's part of the game, and that's what comes with it. And that's the first time in my career I felt like, like Week 2 I'm on a popped tire, and it's just I'm doing everything in my power to try to go out there and help my teammates, and at times I feel like it just wasn't the same."
Since the season ended Crosby's been working his way back from the surgery, but the recovery did not shake the organization's confidence in its star defensive piece, as Crosby was rewarded in March with a three-year, $106.5 million extension that reset the market for pass rushers and, at the time, made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.
Now, with a healed up ankle and an extension in hand that keeps him in Vegas through the 2029 season, Crosby is ready to get back on the field. But he's not the only defensive player whose recovery Raiders fans will want to keep an eye on.
What was supposed to be a dangerous defensive front was plagued by injuries in 2024 even beyond Crosby. Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins broke his foot in Week 5, while Crosby's planned partner on the edge, Malcolm Koonce, missed the entire season with a knee injury.
This trio, which had 31.5 sacks combined in 2023, ended up spending a combined 34 games on the bench with a total of 9.5 sacks in 2024, 7.5 of which came from Crosby.
Without their contributions, the Raiders defense finished 25th in points allowed and tied for 21st in sacks with 38, a drop from its previous year's ranking in which the unit tied for 13th with 46 sacks.
According to coach Pete Carroll, at this point in the offseason Crosby is the most healthy of the bunch. He described Crosby as "full speed," while Wilkins is still working through his recovery and will need more time and Koonce is also still not practicing yet.
The Raiders will hope all three can be healthy for the beginning of the season, immediately elevating the team's defensive potential in Carroll's first year at the helm.
But for now, Crosby's just excited to be back to playing the sport he loves, and is ready to move on from the time missed and look ahead to rebounding from the team's -- and his own -- lackluster last season.
"I feel like everything happens for a reason, I feel like I'm going to look back years from now and it's going to all make sense," Crosby said. "It's just been incredible being out there with my teammates, just being able to fully be myself, not hesitate on any type of cut, just cut it loose. It's the best feeling on the planet, I'm having so much fun out here, just being 100 percent and no hesitation."
