Raiders' DE Crosby on Being a More Complete Player

Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby led the league in tackles for losses in 2022.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby just finished the best season of his career en route to his second Pro Bowl nomination, and one of the things he improved on most was his ability to stop the run.

In doing so, Crosby improved his tackles for losses numbers and led the league in that category with 22.

Crosby said one of his goals going into 2022 after receiving a massive contract extension was becoming a more complete player at the defensive end position. He spoke on “Pro Bowl Live” on SiriusXM NFL Radio about not being recognized for what he does in the running game.

“Early on in my career, even coming out of college, everyone talked about, ‘he can rush the passer, he can rush the passer, but he’s not good against the run,’” Crosby said. “I just feel like people already had that assumption because I was a skinnier dude coming out of Eastern [Michigan].”

“I still had a lot of TFLs in college too, so I’m like: ‘Why is everyone thinking this?’ but once I got to the league, that was the narrative about me early on: ‘He doesn’t play the run, he can rush the passer.’ I feel like in the NFL, everybody needs something to get them going, and there’s always more than just that for me, but that’s always something I’ve always heard.”

Crosby also talked about his balanced off-season regimen, not focusing on one aspect of his game to improve but instead making himself a more well-rounded player. This includes his nutrition, sleep, and breaking down each part of his game.

“Going into this year we had a new coaching staff, they have their expectations of me, and automatically, the way I look at it, through a coach’s lens is like: ‘OK, he's a pass rusher,’ that’s the first thing he thinks, so I’m like: ‘OK, I’m going to prove to them I’m not just a pass rusher,’” Crosby added.

As Crosby and Coach Josh McDaniels go into their second year together, they will better understand each other and have an even better working relationship. Crosby will look to build on a career year and hopes to have an even better one in 2023. 

The NFL Scouting Combine is Feb. 28-March 6, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST, is the club's deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 13-15 is the free agent negotiation period. During that time, starting at 12 p.m. EDT on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. EDT on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4 p.m EDST on March 15.

The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period begins at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this season.

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