The Las Vegas Raiders' season has been an absolute bust, and there are few in the organization who took that harder publicly than star pass rusher Maxx Crosby.
But the bad news for Crosby didn't end there. An ankle injury sidelined him ahead of the Raiders' Week 15 showdown with the visiting Atlanta Falcons. Then, news of an impending surgery made the circumstances even worse.
"Raiders three-time Pro Bowl DE Maxx Crosby, who already has been ruled out for Monday night's game vs. the Falcons due to his ankle injury, is expected to undergo arthroscopic ankle surgery that likely will end his 2024 season, league sources told ESPN," Adam Schefter reported on Dec. 14.
However, Crosby's circumstances got mildly better on Wednesday, when the NFL announced that he is among eight finalists for the league's Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
"The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship," the league wrote in an X post.
Joining Crosby among the group of finalists are the following:
- Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins
- Khalil Mack of the Los Angeles Chargers
- Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills
- Kyle Juszczyk of the San Francisco 49ers
- Leonard Williams of the Seattle Seahawks
- Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals
- Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams
Crosby was also an elite performer on the field, finishing the season with 54 quarterback pressures, 34 hurries and 8 sacks in 12 games played, according to Pro Football Focus.
He tallied a total of 17 tackles for loss as well, per Pro Football Reference.
