Former Raiders OL Shares Maxx Crosby Stories

Former Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders guard Richie Incognito gave his initial impressions of defensive end Maxx Crosby when he was a rookie.

Aug 15, 2019; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oakland Raiders center Richie Incognito (64) during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Raiders defeated the Cardinals 33-26. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former NFL offensive lineman Richie Incognito spent the last two seasons of his career with the Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders. 

Incognito, a four-time Pro Bowler, came to the team at the same time as defensive end Maxx Crosby. 

This was before Crosby was the player we know him as today. Incognito had the chance to watch Crosby’s progression in the league go from a hungry rookie trying to prove himself to one of the top pass-rushers. 

Incognito joined Crosby on the latest episode of his podcast, "The Rush," and shared stories about his first experience with Crosby, among other things. 

“My first experience with Maxx was coming around the corner in the Oakland locker room,” he said. “We had the janky speaker, and Maxx was just flowing on it. Maxx was just going hard on the flow. I was like, ‘Aw, damn, this little white boy from Eastern Michigan, he can rap, bro.’”

Incognito then shared a story from later in the season about when Crosby caught his eye on the field. 

“We played the Bengals, and he’s just punishing them. I’m like, ‘Oh, wow, OK,’” he said. “‘Okay, he can play. He can definitely play.’ And then, you know, you’ve just seen it come together in the last couple of years, just dominant.”

Incognito called that four-sack game from Crosby his "coming out party."

Crosby elaborated on that experience. 

“It was tough, too,” he said. “Leading up to that game, I had, like, a half a sack, and it was, like, Week 9 at that point. It’s just a thing as a rusher; you have to earn the right to get to the quarterback. It’s crazy how that s--- worked out.”

Incognito echoed that sentiment. 

“Sacks are hard to come by,” he said. “Pressures are great, being around the quarterback, but getting him and getting him down, that’s an art form.”

Incognito shared a story about Crosby from practice. It was when he knew Crosby would be a different kind of player in the league. 

“I just remember Maxx, and we would do half-line blitz drills,” he said. “We’d have a 3-technique Maxx and a linebacker, and we knew the linebacker was coming off the edge and Maxx was coming inside. He had to get to the A-gap, so there was a couple times I overset him just once or twice, and he comes by with a big looping s---, you’re like, ‘F---.’ You’re sitting there, and he’s coming at you, like, ‘Where am I going? I’m going inside.’”

Crosby showed signs of being a special player in his rookie year, and Incognito could see them. 

Click here to watch the full podcast episode with Incognito and Crosby.

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