You won’t find a Las Vegas Raiders player more grounded and humble than star defensive end Maxx Crosby. As he rebounds from last year’s ankle injury, No. 98 reiterated that he’s after wins, not awards.
Let’s face it, Crosby has seen his share of individual achievements so far in his career. All of it is well deserved, by the way. The perennial Pro Bowler has received the nod four times and he’ll likely earn it a fifth time in 2025. He’s also been considered for a litany of other awards since coming onto the scene in 2019. Though the Defensive Player of the Year title has remained out of his grasp, Crosby is inching closer.
While all of that sounds lovely, Crosby has always been emphatic in his pleas for a winning team. The defensive stalwart has seen multiple regime changes in a matter of just a few years. It only helps to serve that belief that the Raiders are one of the most dysfunctional organizations. Helping to lead the Sack Summit recently, Crosby candidly spoke on all of this. “We’re trying to win. I want to win so badly, I put everything into it,” said Crosby. “I want everybody else to think like that. And that’s been my goal, just bringing as many guys along as I possibly can.”
Can Maxx Crosby and the Raiders start piling up wins in 2025?
Heading into this season, Crosby is once again being considered the leader of this Raiders unit. As he said, he’s bringing along the likes of Malcolm Koonce, Tyree Wilson, and rookie defensive linemen such as Tonka Hemingway. The difference this season is the leadership change that’s taken place. The Raiders have a Super Bowl-winning head coach overseeing the defense along with a general manager who has his own ring thanks to his work in Tampa Bay as an assistant general manager.
In other words, there are proven winners calling the shots now. More than ever, Crosby has to trust the process. It’s something he’s fully aware of. “Individual success and things like that are awesome, but it’s not why you play the game. You play to win,” Crosby stated. “We just saw it in the NBA: OKC, just a couple of years ago, was one of the worst teams in the league. But they had a lot of young guys, they trusted the process, they developed, and now they’re the world champions.”
Crosby finds himself at a crossroads in his career. Yes, he’s only 27 years old at the time of this publication but as we saw last season, being the NFL’s “Iron Man” is catching up. Crosby’s human too; he can’t do all of it by himself. While there are pieces around him, namely Christian Wilkins, who can help him reach those elusive wins, 2025 could finally prove to be a turning point when you have the right decision-makers in place. Enough with the Pro Bowls, how about some playoff wins?
*Top Photo: Getty Images