Nazem Kadri won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 and wasn’t re-signed, starting the team’s search for a No. 2 center.

They finally found one at the 2025 NHL trade deadline with Brock Nelson. But now they also have found a Kadri-style player.

Nazem Kadri.

The Avalanche and Calgary Flames worked out a deal to bring back Kadri, giving up only Victor Olofsson off their roster, plus draft picks and an unsigned draft pick. Colorado now has enviable center depth and can trot out Nathan MacKinnon, Nelson, Kadri and fellow 2026 trade deadline acquisition Nicolas Roy.

Here are the winners and losers of the 2026 NHL trade deadline:

WINNERS

Nick Foligno joins brother

Sabres go all-in

The Sabres have been on a roll since Jarmo Kekalainen replaced fired Kevyn Adams as general manager. And the GM took steps to try to help the team end a record 14-season playoff drought. An attempted trade for Colton Parayko didn’t materialize when the defenseman declined to waive his no-trade clause. Kekalainen responded with a trade for the Jets’ Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn, giving Buffalo a rugged third defensive pairing behind an impressive top four that includes Rasmus Dahlin. Sam Carrick was added to improve the team’s league-worst faceoff winning percentage, and depth forward Tanner Pearson also joined. Schenn and Pearson have won Stanley Cup titles, important if the Sabres make a rare foray into the postseason.

Panthers hang on to free agents

The Panthers’ run of back-to-back championships (and three trips to the Final) is heading toward an end because of a string of injuries that include captain Aleksander Barkov tearing his ACL on the first day of fall practice. GM Bill Zito traded pending free agent Petry but held on to free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and A.J. Greer and will try to re-sign them. The Panthers’ core, when healthy, is still championship caliber. If they can’t overcome their deficit, they can heal up and try again next season.

LOSERS

Capitals players devastated

They took it hard when Nic Dowd was dealt to the Golden Knights after being in Washington since 2018-19. Then they woke up Friday morning to find out that 17-year veteran John Carlson was heading to Anaheim after a late-night trade.

‘Today sucks, it’s brutal,’ forward Tom Wilson told reporters. ‘I’m sure there are some guys that want to cry. That’s the reality of it. Today you can cry and tomorrow you got to wake up and be a big boy and go out and play hockey.’

Awkward position for Colton Parayko

Parayko had every right to veto a trade to Buffalo. That’s why agents negotiate no-trade clauses with teams. But the fact that news of the trade leaked made things awkward for the defenseman as he took the time to make a decision on his future.

‘We did some due diligence as soon as that happened,’ general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters, according to the Post-Dispatch. ‘We checked the phone records of all of our staff, texts and emails, and everybody passed the test, not surprisingly. I was disappointed it got out. I know it didn’t come from us.’

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs gave up a first-round pick and a prospect last season to land Scott Laughton and two mid-round picks from the Flyers. Leafs general manager Brad Treliving traded the pending free agent to the Kings on Friday and received a conditional third-round pick. It can become a second-rounder if Los Angeles makes the playoffs.

New CBA rules

The new collective bargaining agreement included a playoff salary cap and rules making it harder for teams to use a second team to retain some salary in a trade. The result: Deadline day was fairly dull until the Kadri trade surfaced.

While the fate of college sports was being discussed at the White House with the biggest and best of sports and politics, the silent partner of the free-spending, free-falling framework was all but ignoring it. 

ESPN, Fox, NBC and CBS — who combined to throw more than two billion dollars annually at college sports — were more interested in televising the NFL, college basketball, and talk and reality shows. 

Don’t mess with Judge Judy, people. 

Then again, what played out in Washington D.C. wasn’t much different from Judy’s reality show.

In between ideas (some good) from various participants, President Donald Trump — who, to his credit, somehow got all of these iconic individuals together — rambled on about “going back to the old way.”

“I’d like to go exactly back to what we had, and ram it through a court,” Trump said.  

Excuse me, Mr. President? That’s what got us here in the first place. 

It didn’t take long for the two-hour event to devolve into an airing of grievances, an opportunity for those 50-plus at the table to have their moment and their say. Until, that is, Trump had heard enough. 

Right on cue, it became his show again.

He’s issuing a second executive order (the first accomplished nothing), one he says will return college sports to “common sense, and let colleges and players survive and everyone will be happy.”

Says the order will be done in a week, and that it may not hold up in court, but that, “you’re not going to get anything through (Congress).”

And with that, the most powerful man in the free world decided to punt.

Look, I don’t blame him. This thing is an unwieldy mess, and will get zero help from the only body on the planet that’s more tribally dysfunctional than the NCAA: Congress.  

So let’s start with the non-negotiable of the process: No change in college sports begins without some form of antitrust protection for universities. 

Which, of course, is like saying you want to protect the fox while he guards the hen house.

These universities have spent the past five years whining and complaining about a system they built, proclaiming over and over it’s unsustainable. Yet the damn thing keeps printing money. Lots of it. 

But there has to be a starting point, so maybe this is it. Maybe, as Yankees president Randy Levine said, it begins with a two-year antitrust exemption to see if universities can implement an agreement. Or if they screw it up.

If it’s the latter, the whole process begins again from Step 1. 

An antitrust exemption is incredibly university-friendly, allowing those with the money to set rules for those without. Or in this case for players, about 20% of it. 

If universities receive the antitrust exemption, the first thing implemented is a return to restricting player movement. (That voice you just heard was Trump announcing, “Go back to the wonderful system.”) 

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey says his conference wants one free transfer, and that’s it. You know, the old days.

Because free player movement, they insist, leads to structural and financial instability. Leads to an unwinding of the critical thread that makes college sports different and unique from the NFL. Like that matters now.

Forget that the ‘old days’ were awful for players, the financial equivalent of traversing a long, lonely desert — only to have someone eventually offer you a box of cotton balls to quench your thirst. 

Which brings us to former coach Urban Meyer, he of the spotless reputation (both at Florida and Ohio State, and one disastrous year in the NFL). His gift to the day: “Get rid of collectives. That’s cheating!”

Cheating. Imagine that. 

He then tried to explain the machinations of collectives and their cash is king mantra to Trump. Insert your joke here. 

It’s all just so rich.

And speaking of money, very little was said about Cody Campbell’s idea to use the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, and allow conferences to pool their media rights and make more money — so everyone can share the wealth. 

The SEC and Big Ten don’t want to pool television media rights, and they certainly don’t want a billionaire businessman — who just so happens to be the president of the Texas Tech Board of Regents — telling them how to financially structure their swindle. I mean, their system.

Early in the meeting, before it was every man and woman for themselves, a football coach said the most important thing of all. Not surprising that it was Alabama legend Nick Saban, who grew up in hardscrabble Monongah, W.V. 

Saban’s dad, Big Nick, once took Saban to the coal mines after Little Nick lost his way one specific day as a teenager. 

Get an education, Big Nick said with a threatening tone, or you’ll end up here. 

Saban began his time at the Trump event by saying he’s just a football coach, and that he’s honored to be in the same room with everyone. Shoot, his big dilemma was always finding an answer to third-and-long.

Then he said it, the most pointed thing of the entire two-hour ordeal. 

“What are the guiding principles for college athletics?” Saban said. “My goal as a coach was to help (players) create value for themselves in life, and prepare them for a future beyond athletics.”

Oh, wait, the players. Yeah, those at the center of this quagmire weren’t invited to the event. Why would they?

They currently have the law (and free player movement) on their side, thanks to a federal judge in ― wait for it ― West Virginia.

No need to punt on third-and-long.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brought the jacket. Junior Caminero supplied the trot.

And collectively, the Dominican Republic served notice it will be an irrepressible, sartorially smashing presence in the World Baseball Classic.

Given an early scare by Dusty Baker’s heavy underdog Nicaragua squad, the Dominicans charged up loanDepot Park in Miami when Caminero put a charge into a Stiven Cruz changeup – it came off his bat at 111.6 mph – and broke open a tie game with a two-run, sixth-inning home run.

And in what seemed like a blink, a 3-3 nailbiter became a 12-3 Dominican Republic Pool D party.

Well, maybe it wasn’t a blink. Caminero’s trip around the bases took plenty of time. But oh, what a journey it was.

As his line drive cleared the fence just to the right of dead center field, the highly partisan crowd of 35,127 roared. Still sprinting before he knew it was gone, Caminero, chain flapping, lost his helmet as he reached second base. And then he soaked up every last roar from the crowd before greeting third base coach Carlos Febles.

And finally, he meandered down the third base line before unleashing an epic handshake/dance move with veteran Manny Machado.

After all that, it was time to greet the receiving line. The giddy D.R. populated the apron outside their third base dugout, relief palpable and joy unbridled. And there was Guerrero, reprising the home run jacket he helped popularize in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout.

This one, blinged out quite nicely, celebrated not La Gente Del Barrio but rather the members of the Dominican squad, from Niño to Soto to J-Rod to La Tormenta – the perfect storm of a nickname, if you will.

The jacket suddenly was in high demand: Julio Rodríguez and Oneil Cruz crushed home runs two innings later, Cruz’s a three-run shot that made it a laugher.

Not a bad outcome for a club that faced 1-0 and 3-1 deficits early on, with Nicaragua chasing ace Cristopher Sanchez after he recorded just four outs.

Yet this lineup is both devastating and undaunted. Few epitomize that quite so well as Caminero, who as a Tampa Bay Ray hammered 45 home runs as a 21-year-old last year. His prelude to that season: An epic 454-foot home run and a trip around the bases to match as he lifted Licey to the Dominican’s winter ball championship.

Some raised eyebrows greeted Caminero when he reported for big league camp. Yet 45 home runs later, he showed he’s certainly earned the right to pimp it a little bit.

And in his World Baseball Classic debut, he showed the Dominicans will be hard to handle – and even harder to miss.

Formula 1 has two races set to take place in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month, but could that change due to the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran?

The F1 season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend before traveling to China and Japan for more racing action.

A race in Bahrain is planned for April 12 and the one in Saudi Arabia is scheduled for April 19.

Per The Athletic, a U.S. naval base located just 20 miles away from the F1 track in Bahrain was struck as the war escalated. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain have also been targets of Iranian missiles or drone strikes. 

Beyond the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races in April, F1 has races scheduled this fall in Azerbaijan and Qatar.

F1 has not canceled a race since flooding took place in northern Italy in 2023.

“Obviously (for) the sport, ourselves, the fans, the partners, our race team, all that will be of the utmost importance from a safety point of view,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown told reporters on Friday.

“We just have to see how things play out, and we’ll make the right decision for the health of everybody involved in the sport.”

Aaron Judge and Logan Webb led Team USA to a 15-5 victory over Brazil in its 2026 World Baseball Classic opener, a strong start for the Americans’ campaign to win the tournament for the second time.

Brazil’s pitchers issued 17 walks in the game, a feat that had only occurred 14 times in MLB history.

‘Captain America’ Judge got the party started in Houston with a two-run homer in the first inning off Brazil starter Bo Takahasi, in what looked to be the earliest stages of a potential blowout. But the underdogs came right back when leadoff man Lucas Ramirez – son of 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez – hit a solo home run off Logan Webb.

Get in the game with 2026 WBC tickets!

Team USA added a run in the third inning against 17-year-old Brazilian pitcher Joseph Contreras, a high school senior and son of World Series champion Jose Contreras, who had induced a bases-loaded double play from the three-time MVP Judge an inning earlier.

Ramirez’s leadoff home run was the only hit Webb would surrender, tossing 52 pitches in four innings of work.

The Americans scored four in the fifth to make it 7-1 and just when it seemed like the USA was cruising, Brazil struck back with three runs against Michael Wacha in the bottom of the seventh. But heading into the ninth with an 8-5 lead, Team USA plated seven runs to turn the final result into a laugher.

The Americans are back in action on Saturday against Great Britain, with back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal set to take the mound.

Here’s how Friday’s game unfolded:

How to watch USA vs Brazil in World Baseball Classic

Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV channel: Fox
Stream: FoxSports.com and Fubo

Watch World Baseball Classic on Fubo

USA scores seven in the ninth

Team USA took a three-run lead into the top of the ninth and ended up scoring seven in the inning to take a 10-run advantage with the help of Brazil’s pitching shakiness. The Brazilians issued five walks in the ninth and will finish the game with 17, just two shy of MLB’s record.

Lucas Ramirez hits his second home run

Manny Ramirez’s 20-year-old son clobbered his second home run of the game in the eighth inning off USA reliever Gabe Speier, taking a moment to admire his handywork. The solo shot cut the Brazilians’ deficit to 8-5 heading into the ninth.

Brazil makes it a ballgame

Coming out for a second inning of work in relief, Michael Wacha caved in the bottom of the seventh, giving up four hits including Victor Mascai’s two-run homer that cut Team USA’s advantage to 7-4.

Michael Wacha replaces Logan Webb

Right-hander Michael Wacha came on to pitch the fifth for Team USA, relieving starter Logan Webb, who gave up one run – a leadoff homer – in four innings of work. Wacha struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth and the game heads to the sixth with Team USA leading 7-1

USA blows it open in the fifth

Entering the top of the fifth leading 3-1, the Americans scored four runs to perhaps put the game out of reach against Brazil. Team USA loaded the bases with three walks and then Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch to plate the fourth run. Brice Turang followed with a bases-clearing double – his second two-bagger of the night – to make it 7-1.

Logan Webb through four for Team USA

Logan Webb gave up a home run to the first batter he faced but didn’t surrender a hit after that, completing four innings on 52 pitches with Team USA holding a 3-1 lead over Brazil.

USA extends lead on wild pitch

Joseph Contreras’ second wild pitch in the top of the third scored Kyle Schwarber, extending Team USA’s lead to 3-1.

Meanwhile, American starter Logan Webb hasn’t given up a hit since Lucas Ramirez’s leadoff home run.

Joseph Contreras: High school pitcher gets Aaron Judge out

Brazil’s 17-year-old Joseph Contreras got three-time MVP Aaron Judge to ground into a double play with the bases loaded in the second inning of Friday’s World Baseball Classic opener, one of the more unlikely moments you’ll ever see on a diamond.

Contreras, a high school senior ranked by MLB.com as the No. 47 draft prospect this year, is the son of pitcher Jose Contreras, who played 11 Major League Baseball seasons.

Lucas Ramirez home run pulls one back for Brazil

Lucas Ramirez, son of MLB legend Manny Ramirez, stunned the crowd in Houston with a leadoff home run against Team USA starter Logan Webb, cutting Brazil’s deficit in half.

A 17th-round pick in 2024 for the Angels, Ramirez had a .772 OPS with three home runs in 192 at-bats in Rookie League and Single-A.

Aaron Judge home run puts Team USA up

Team USA captain Aaron Judge wasted no time in his World Baseball Classic debut, jumping on a 3-0 offering from Brazil starter Bo Takahashi and crushing it over the wall in left-center, staking the Americans to a 2-0 lead.

Bobby Witt Jr. led off the game with an infield single and then stole second on Bryce Harper’s strikeout to get in scoring position for Judge.

Takahashi worked himself into further trouble, giving up a single to Kyle Schwarber before walking Alex Bregman with one out. But the right-hander got Cal Raleigh and Roman Anthony to ground out and escape further damage.

USA lineup tonight vs Brazil

Starter: RHP Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants

Bobby Witt Jr., SS — Royals
Bryce Harper, 1B — Phillies
Aaron Judge, RF — Yankees
Kyle Schwarber, DH — Phillies
Alex Bregman, 3B — Cubs
Cal Raleigh, C — Mariners
Roman Anthony, LF — Red Sox
Byron Buxton, CF — Twins
Brice Turang, 2B — Brewers

Dante Bichette Jr.’s hair shines for Brazil

HOUSTON — If it wasn’t already clear from Dante Bichette Jr.’s jersey which contingent he was a part of at the World Baseball Classic, his head offered a less-than-subtle clue.

Two weeks ago, Bichette Jr. enlisted the help of a hairstylist friend in Los Angeles to dye his shoulder-length hair bright green, matching one of the main colors in the Brazilian flag.

During Team Brazil’s pre-WBC workout Thursday at Daikin Park, Bichette Jr. added a bandana of the Brazilian flag on top of his colorful mane prior to donning a blue-and-yellow cap.

“Last year I had green that turned into yellow, this year I put dark green so it would stay a little bit,” Bichette Jr. explained.

– Danielle Lerner

Bo Takahashi explains Brazil baseball

‘Brazil baseball, it is its own style of baseball because you have Japanese baseball, a little bit Latin as well, a little bit Cuban. Pretty much it is a mix of everything – American baseball also,’ Bo Takahashi told reporters before starting Brazil’s opener against Team USA.

‘It’s own style, it is something else for sure.’

Brazil starting lineup

Team USA WBC roster 2026

Catchers

Cal Raleigh (Mariners)
Will Smith (Dodgers)

Infielders

Bryce Harper (1B, Phillies)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B, Yankees)
Brice Turang (2B, Brewers)
Alex Bregman (3B, Cubs)
Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, Royals)
Gunnar Henderson (SS, Orioles)
Ernie Clement (UTIL, Blue Jays)

Outfielders

Aaron Judge (Captain, Yankees)
Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks)
Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)
Byron Buxton (Twins)
Roman Anthony (Red Sox)
Kyle Schwarber (Phillies)

Pitchers

Logan Webb (Giants)
Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
Paul Skenes (Pirates)
Nolan McLean (Mets)
Clay Holmes (Mets)
Michael Wacha (Royals)
Matthew Boyd (Cubs)
Mason Miller (Padres)
David Bednar (Yankees)
Clayton Kershaw (Retired)
Griffin Jax (Rays)
Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox)
Ryan Yarbrough (Yankees)
Gabe Speier (Mariners)
Garrett Cleavinger (Rays)
Brad Keller (Phillies)

Buy 2026 World Baseball Classic tickets

Brazil embraces WBC underdog role

HOUSTON — After going 3-1 in last year’s qualifiers, Team Brazil is back in the World Baseball Classic for the second time ever and first time since 2013. Brazil opens the tournament with a game against Team USA on Friday night in Houston.

“Any good movie I’ve ever seen starts with an underdog story, you know?” Brazil’s Dante Bichette Jr. said. “Now, this is a challenge, for sure. But nine innings and it’s a baseball game, and a lot of the time this type of games comes down to heart. When it comes to heart, we can hang.”

— Danielle Lerner

Logan Webb stats

2025: 15-11 record, 3.22 ERA, 207.0 IP, 224 SO, 1.24 WHIP
2024: 13-10 record, 3.47 ERA, 204.2 IP, 172 SO, 1.23 WHIP
2023: 11-13 record, 3.25 ERA, 216.0 IP, 194 SO, 1.07 WHIP
2022: 15-9 record, 2.90 ERA, 192.1 IP, 163 SO, 1.16 WHIP
2021: 11-3 record, 3.03 ERA, 148.1 IP, 158 SO, 1.11 WHIP
2020: 3-4 record, 5.47 ERA, 54.1 IP, 46 SO, 1.56 WHIP
2019: 2-3 record, 5.22 ERA, 39.2 IP, 37 SO, 1.46 WHIP

World Baseball Classic predictions

Pick for championship game and tournament MVP

Bob Nightengale: USA over Japan / Aaron Judge MVP
Gabe Lacques: Japan over USA / Shohei Ohtani
Jesse Yomtov: Japan over USA / Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Steve Gardner: USA over Dominican Republic / Bobby Witt Jr.

World Baseball Classic Pool B in Houston

United States
Mexico
Italy
Great Britain
Brazil

WBC Pool B schedule

March 6: Mexico vs. Great Britain
March 6: United States vs. Brazil
March 7: Brazil vs. Italy
March 7: Great Britain vs. United States
March 8: Great Britain vs. Italy
March 8: Brazil vs. Mexico
March 9: Brazil vs. Great Britain
March 9: Mexico vs. United States
March 10: Italy vs. United States
March 11: Italy vs. Mexico

HOUSTON — So, what did you do during your spring break in high school?

Joseph Contreras, the 17-year-old son of former All-Star pitcher Jose Contreras, just spent Friday night dazzling the baseball world for Team Brazil against USA, pitching so well that he can brag about it to his buddies at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia.

Contreras, stepping on the same mound where his father won the 2005 World Series championship with the Chicago White Sox in Houston, faced the greatest hitters in the world and excelled.

He came into the game in the second inning, and retired Byron Buxton on a fly ball to right field, and then ran into trouble by giving up a double off the left-field wall to Brice Turang, and then issued back-to-back walks to Bobby Witt Jr and Bryce Harper to load the bases.

Next up, Aaron Judge, who just clobbered a home run in the first inning.

Gulp.

Contreras threw a 97-mph fastball past Judge for strike one. He missed with a 80-mph changeup. And came back with a 94.4-mph sinker that Judge hit to third baseman Leonardo Reginatto, who started an inning-ending double play.

Contreras danced to the dugout, his teammates all stood to congratulate him, and the professional scouts in the stands scribbled frantically.

If this kid was projected to be a second-round draft pick before the WBC, his stock just soared.

He may be committed to Vanderbilt, but after this night, well, they better come up with a whole lot more NIL money to make sure they get him.

“Can you imagine how much his stock will rise if he pitches well?’’ said FOX announcer A.J. Pierznyski, who introduced himself to Contreras, telling him that he used to catch his father.

The youngster struggled a bit in his second inning by giving up a single to Kyle Schwarber, who eventually scored on Contreras’ second wild pitch of the frame, and issued a walk to Cal Raleigh, knocking him out of the game. But the impression was made.

The kid just had a memory he’ll cherish forever.

And, oh, how his high school teammates can’t wait to hear all about that magical evening deep in the heart of Texas.

The Boston Celtics’ newly acquired center, Nikola Vucevic, hit the locker room early and did not return after suffering an injury in Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Vucevic was ruled out with a right ring finger fracture, the team’s PR staff reported on social media.

He was injured at the 4:35 mark in the first quarter of the contest after receiving a low post entry pass from Payton Pritchard.

Vucevic was being guarded by Mavericks center Moussa Cisse when Mavs teammate Khris Middleton went to help and took a swipe at Boston’s big man, making contact with his hand. No foul was called.

Vucevic passed the ball back to Pritchard before fading to the corner. After Pritchard turned the ball over, Dallas went back and scored on the other end.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla called a timeout at the 4:21 mark, and seemingly discussed the no-call with an official, as the Mavericks took a 13-12 lead.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Vucevic is expected to undergo a procedure on Saturday for his fractured ring finger and will miss approximately one month.

The Celtics went on to win the game, 120-100, behind Jaylen Brown’s 24 points and a 20-point game from Derrick White.

Jayson Tatum returned from an Achilles injury suffered in last year’s playoffs to score 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists on 6-of-16 shooting.

Apparently what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas – at least when it comes to Maxx Crosby.

The Las Vegas Raiders agreed to trade Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, per multiple reports. Vegas will acquire 2026 and 2027 first-round NFL draft picks from Baltimore in exchange for the star pass-rusher, ESPN reports.

The deal cannot become official until the new league year on Wednesday, March 11 at 4 p.m. ET.

It comes just one year after Crosby inked a a three-year, $106.5 million extension to extend his stay in Sin City. Loyalty was never a question for the Eastern Michigan product, who endured plenty of losing with the Raiders from Oakland to Vegas and just one playoff game in seven seasons.

From Baltimore’s side, acquiring the star pass rusher is a major opening statement for new head coach Jesse Minter. Minter, who coached against Crosby in 2024 and 2025 as the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator, is entering his first season with the Ravens in 2026.

The Ravens had a difficult time getting to the quarterback in 2025, resulting in Travis Jones holding a team-high five sacks. Baltimore posted just 30 sacks as a team this past season, tied for third-fewest in the NFL.

Rumors have swirled the last few years, but Crosby refrained from pushing the issue with a trade request. That began to change this offseason, when Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported on Feb. 4 that the star was done with the franchise.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said during an appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Feb. 9 that there was a feeling around the league that Crosby wanted to be traded.

Crosby was notably unhappy at the end of the 2025 season, but general manager John Spytek told reporters on Feb. 24 that he expected the pass-rusher to remain with the team into the 2026 season – though the GM didn’t rule out a trade, adding that he would always listen.

Turns out, those listening ears ended up hearing something that was enough to strike a deal.

Now he’ll hope to be on the winning side a little more in his new city. Here’s a look at what it took for the Raiders to part with Crosby.

Maxx Crosby trade details

Ravens receive:

DE Maxx Crosby

Raiders receive:

2026 first-round pick (14th overall)
2027 first-round pick

Maxx Crosby stats

Crosby was drafted by the Raiders with the 106th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the then-Oakland Raiders. He has played in 110 games since entering the league, recording 69.5 sacks and 164 quarterback hits in seven seasons.

The pass-rusher became one of the league’s best since bursting on the scene in 2019 with 10 sacks in his rookie year. With five Pro Bowl appearances and two second-team All-Pro nods, Crosby figures to be on the rise as he takes on a new challenge.

Surrounded by some better defensive talent and more positive game scripts, the sky is the limit for Crosby’s game going forward.

Maxx Crosby trade grades

Who won the deal? USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis says both teams are big winners.

2026 NFL Draft order

Order via Tankathon for the first round.

Las Vegas Raiders: 3-14 record; .538 strength of schedule
New York Jets: 3-14, .552
Arizona Cardinals: 3-14; .571
Tennessee Titans: 3-14, .574
New York Giants: 4-13; .524
Cleveland Browns: 5-12, .486
Washington Commanders: 5-12; .507
New Orleans Saints: 6-11; .495
Kansas City Chiefs: 6-11; .516
Cincinnati Bengals: 6-11; .521
Miami Dolphins: 7-10; .488
Dallas Cowboys: 7-9-1; .438
Los Angeles Rams (via Atlanta): 8-9; .495
Las Vegas Raiders (via Baltimore): 8-9; .507
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-9, .529
New York Jets (via Indianapolis): 8-9; .540
Detroit Lions: 9-8; .490
Minnesota Vikings: 9-8; .514 SOS
Carolina Panthers: 8-9, .522 SOS
Dallas Cowboys (via Green Bay): 9-7-1; .483
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7; .503
Los Angeles Chargers: 11-6; .469
Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6; .476
Cleveland Browns (via Jacksonville): 13-4; .478
Chicago Bears: 11-6; .458
Buffalo Bills: 12-5, .471
San Francisco 49ers: 12-5, .498
Houston Texans: 12-5; .522
Kansas City Chiefs (via Los Angeles Rams): 12-5, .526
Denver Broncos: 14-3; .422
New England Patriots: 14-3; .391
Seattle Seahawks: 14-3; .498