Maxx Crosby sounds off on popular NFL conspiracy theory

Days after the draft, the mystery surrounding quarterback Shedeur Sanders’s slide continues to baffle and amaze the football world.

A consensus first-round pick, reports about Sanders’ entitled attitude during interviews and perceived inability to mesh with a NFL locker room lead to an unexpected tumble. Even after the Cleveland Browns ended his fall with the 144th overall pick, the rumors continued to circle around as to why this happened. The most popular theory floating around social media right now is that the league owners colluded to bring Sanders down, hoping to humble the outspoken second-generation star.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby heard the rumors like everyone else, and took to his podcast to put his two cents in the discussion.

Crosby is definitely not having any of the current talk surrounding Sanders and the NFL.

During an episode of “The Rush with Maxx Crosby,” the superstar pass rusher made it clear that he is not in the camp that suggests the NFL conspired against Sanders.

“The NFL is the NFL,” Crosby said. “They don’t give a [expletive] about who you are, what you’re about, all that, and I think Shedeur – I love Shedeur to death. That’s my little brother. I’ve been trying to help him for a long time. I’ve been in his corner during the whole process. I think his chip on his shoulder is going to grow.”

Much like the rest of the football world, Crosby was shocked when Sanders fell from the first round all the way to the fifth.

“When he dropped out of the first round, I was shocked,” Crosby recounted. “When he dropped to the fifth, I’m like, ‘Holy [expletive]’ I knew there was a possibility he could drop later in the first round, maybe early second. That was kind of the consensus.”

Sanders’s slide was unprecedented, but it is hard to believe that all 32 NFL owners, including the one that drafted him, were in on some cloak-and-dagger conspiracy to make it happen.

The issue with such a theory, as well as any others suggesting the NFL or any other league is ‘rigged,’ is just how many points of error there are in making such a grandiose plot function. It is little more than a high-profile case of how the boards of analysts and NFL teams differ wildly on some prospects. If a team felt comfortable taking Sanders as early as everyone suggested, they would have done so.

Crosby is of the mindset that the NFL is ultimately a business, and Sanders just received his first cold reminder of that.