Maxx Crosby

Maxx Robert Crosby (born August 22, 1997) is an American football defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Michigan Eagles and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

Early years
Maxx Robert Crosby was born in Lapeer, Michigan, and moved to Colleyville, Texas during adolescence. The spelling of Crosby's first name comes from how large (11 pounds, 9 ounces) he was at birth. He attended Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas.

Crosby's mother, Vera Crosby, is of Serbian and Albanian origin. Asked about his Serbian roots on his Instagram account, Crosby replied with najbolji smo, najjaci, Serbian for "we are the best, [we are] the strongest". He added an eagle emoticon, the Eagles being a nickname both for the Serbian national sports teams, and for their supporter groups.

College career
Crosby played college football at Eastern Michigan from 2015 to 2018. Eastern Michigan was the only college football program to give Crosby an offer. Crosby was selected First-team All-MAC in 2017 and 2018.

He was inducted into the school's Ring of Honor in 2023. In 2024, the playing field at Rynearson Stadium was renamed "Crosby Field" following a $1 million donation to the program from Crosby.

2019
Crosby was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. Crosby made his debut in week 1 against the Denver Broncos, where Crosby made 6 tackles in the 24–16 win. In week 5 against the Chicago Bears, Crosby recorded his first career sack on Chase Daniel in the 24–21 win. In week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Crosby sacked Ryan Finley four times, one of which was a strip sack that was recovered by teammate Maurice Hurst Jr. in their 17–10 win. For his efforts, Crosby earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week. His four sacks were the most sacks made in a single game by a rookie in franchise history, as well as by a Raider in a single game since 2015, a year where Khalil Mack recorded five sacks while facing the Broncos. In week 17 against the Broncos, Crosby made 1.5 sacks on fellow rookie Drew Lock in a 15–16 Raiders loss. Crosby finished his rookie season with ten sacks, 47 total tackles, four passes defended, and four forced fumbles.

2020
Crosby was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on August 6, 2020, and was activated on August 14.

In Week 3 against the New England Patriots, Crosby recorded his first two sacks of the season on Cam Newton during the 36–20 loss. In Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Crosby recorded his first sack on Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes in a Raiders 40–32 win. In Week 17 against the Broncos, Crosby sacked Drew Lock once and blocked two field goals in a 32–31 win. Crosby was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. He ended the season with seven sacks, 39 total tackles, and one pass defended.

2021
In Week 1 of the 2021 season, Crosby recorded six tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks in a 33–27 win over the Baltimore Ravens. For his efforts, he earned his second career AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor. In Week 6, Crosby recorded six tackles, 12 pressures, and a season-high three sacks in a 34–24 win over the Broncos. In week 18, Crosby earned his third AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor, which was his second of the season, for registering six tackles, three tackles for a loss, four quarterback hits, 11 pressures, two sacks and three passes defended against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Crosby would set a number of personal bests that season, which included passes defended (7) and a team-leading amount of quarterback hits (30), more than doubling his career highs at that point for both statistics. Crosby was named as a 2021 second-team All-Pro edge rusher by the Associated Press. He was ranked 59th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.

2022
On March 11, 2022 (his two-year anniversary of becoming sober), Crosby signed a four-year, $98.98 million contract extension with the Raiders. He finished the season with a career-high 12.5 sacks, 89 total tackles, four passes defended, and three forced fumbles. He led the NFL in tackles for loss with 22, and was named a 2022 Pro Bowler for his season performance.

2023
In Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers, Crosby recorded four tackles for loss, the most in the league that week, and a sack and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Personal life
In March 2020, Crosby checked into rehab for alcoholism. In February 2022, Crosby got engaged to Rachel Washburn, and they welcomed their first child on October 13, 2022. On March 4, 2023, Crosby and Washburn married in Nevada.

In 2023, Crosby tattooed his chest with the words "Be Legendary" with pictures of Muhammad Ali, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and an image of his daughter as an infant.