Patriots brass brushed off a comment that’s made the rounds during free agency, musing that legendary quarterback Tom Brady, now a minority owner with the Raiders, would ever send Maxx Crosby to New England.
Eliot Wolf met with local media in a camera-free setting to discuss the first week of free agency, and was asked about a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in which an anonymous NFL executive allegedly involved in the trade remarked, “No way Tom (Brady) was sending Maxx to (Mike) Vrabel.”
Was there truth to that sentiment?
“No,” Wolf said, after a chuckle. “I’d be surprised if that was true. I have a really good relationship with John Spytek, the Raiders general manager. We speak about a variety of things, and that’s never been a thing.”
The report first surfaced after the Ravens offered two first-round picks for the two-time All-Pro pass rusher, but in a stunning turn of events, Baltimore backed out of the trade before it was finalized.
“We make a lot of exploratory calls and I’ll just leave it at that,” Wolf said.
On the particulars of the deal that fell through, Wolf said, “I didn’t know too much about it. Every team and general manager in the league has to act in the faith of what they think is best for their team. That one was, maybe, a little unusual, but that’s there business.
“I’d have to talk to Richard Miller about our numbers right now. We’ll look into any player that we think could help us.
Crosby, 28, injured his meniscus last October but played hurt for the remainder of the season and underwent surgery in January. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported he failed his physical with the Ravens, who have since signed edge Trey Hendrickson.
He signed a three-year, $106.5 million contract with the Raiders last March that includes $91.5 million guaranteed.
Brady, who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories during his two decades in New England, bought a 5% stake in the Raiders that was subsequently approved by the NFL in October 2024.