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It's time for the team to start having the same mindset Las Vegas Raiders' superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby has.
For Las Vegas Raiders superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby, the path to greatness isn’t measured by the individual accolades he’s steadily collected. It’s about building something lasting. As the four-time Pro Bowler prepares for his seventh NFL season, he isn’t shy to acknowledge how hard it’s been to turn promise into meaningful success in Las Vegas.
“We’re trying to win. I want to win so badly. I put everything into it. I want everybody else to think that,” Crosby said at the annual Sack Summit, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed. “And that’s been my goal, just bringing as many guys along as I possibly can.”
Maxx Crosby Sees Inspiration in Oklahoma City Thunder’s Championship Turnaround
This offseason, Crosby pointed to an unlikely source of inspiration far outside the NFL: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA’s freshly crowned champion. OKC went from being at the bottom of the league to hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy. To Crosby, that’s proof of what faith in the process and relentless work can yield.
“Anytime you go out there, you want to be in a position to win,” Crosby emphasized. “Individual success and things like that are awesome, but it’s not why you play the game. You play to win. 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.”
That story resonates even more deeply considering how much disappointment Crosby has endured since joining the Raiders in 2019. In six seasons, he’s piled up 59.5 sacks and established himself as one of the NFL’s most ferocious defenders. Yet, despite all that production, the Raiders have only managed one playoff berth, and not a single postseason win.
Alongside Cam Jordan and Von Miller, #Raiders DE Maxx Crosby is co-hosting the annual “Sack Summit.” The event brings together dozens of NFL pass rushers to exchange knowledge.
Former players Howie Long, Chris Long and others are also in attendance.
A Renewed Sense to Become Great
It hasn’t been all sunshine for the Raiders, but for Crosby on a personal level as well. In 2o23, he dealt with a “nagging” left knee injury, which eventually sent him to the hospital with an infected knee. After taking a series of antibiotics, he played just four days later, according to Reed.
“I’ll die before I don’t play in this game,” he told defensive line coach Rob Leonard. And despite this serious injury, general manager John Spytek still has faith in him and signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million extension.
“It’s an honor, obviously, having the Raiders with a new staff and new regime come in and show me that type of respect,” Crosby said. “It means the world. Like Spytek said, it’s not about what I’ve done, it’s about what I’m about to do…And we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Crosby understands better than anyone on the team that it will take a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to bring the Raiders back to a place where winning is the standard. But it takes more than just one person to turn the franchise around, and it’s time for the rest of the team to step up as well.
