At annual Sack Summit, Maxx Crosby stresses Raiders have ‘a lot of work to do'

New York Times

27-06-2025

LAS VEGAS — Frustration was a constant for Maxx Crosby with the Las Vegas Raiders last season. Enduring another losing season and another regime change afterward would've been bad enough. What made it all worse was something unfamiliar: The star pass rusher couldn't play.
In a Week 2 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Crosby had his left foot rolled up on and suffered a high-ankle sprain. He played through it the next week but didn't feel right. He sat out in Week 4, which was the first game he missed in his entire career.
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Despite lingering pain, Crosby returned to action the following week. While he wasn't at his usual All-Pro level, he pushed through it. He's never been one to make excuses.
In 2023, Crosby dealt with a nagging left knee injury that eventually became infected and sent him to the hospital. After getting the knee drained and taking a series of antibiotics, he played just four days later. 'I'll die before I don't play in this game,' he told defensive line coach Rob Leonard. So he wasn't going to let a sore ankle stop him.
But when the same ankle was rolled up on again in a Week 14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he couldn't tough it out any longer. He was shut down for the season and underwent TightRope surgery to repair his ankle.
During his rehab, the Raiders hired general manager John Spytek and coach Pete Carroll. Crosby expressed his excitement about the duo, but he also made it clear that, with no guaranteed money remaining on his contract, he wanted a new deal. And even though he was coming off an injury, the Raiders signed him to a massive three-year, $106.5 million extension.
'It's an honor, obviously, having the Raiders with a new staff and new regime come in and show me that type of respect,' Crosby said Thursday. 'It means the world. Like Spytek said, it's not about what I've done, it's about what I'm about to do. … And we've got a lot of work to do.'
Crosby's ankle recovered, and he was at full go throughout OTAs. Although training camp is a month away, he's keeping up his daily routine of working out and undergoing treatment at team headquarters.
This week, he is co-hosting the 'Sack Summit' alongside New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan and All-Pro Von Miller for the second year in a row. It was the ninth iteration of the annual pass-rush summit that was originally named after Miller. While the title has changed, the focus remains the same: bringing together dozens of pass rushers from around the league to pore over the tricks of the trade.
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An additional part of the summit this year was a youth engagement event at a nearby hotel. The professionals spent time running drills and sharing knowledge with local high schoolers. For Crosby, whose foundation also runs programming for teen substance-abuse intervention, youth health and wellness, animal rescue, abuse prevention and other charitable causes, it was another way of deepening his roots in the Las Vegas community.
Other notable pass rushers, such as Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis and Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Calais Campbell, were also in attendance. Additionally, former NFL pass rushers Chris Long, Howie Long, Robert Mathis and Shawne Merriman participated.
Alongside Cam Jordan and Von Miller, #Raiders DE Maxx Crosby is co-hosting the annual "Sack Summit." The event brings together dozens of NFL pass rushers to exchange knowledge.
Former players Howie Long, Chris Long and others are also in attendance. pic.twitter.com/0g0r4Ux1nH
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) June 26, 2025
Crosby began to attend the event as a young, unproven player and has since grown into someone others look up to.
'I saw it from day one watching the film,' Miller said of Crosby's promise. 'For him to develop into the type of player he is now, it's like watching your little brother become (expletive) Superman.'
On Thursday, Crosby helped lead the on-field session on UNLV's campus. The two-hour period was focused on teaching various pass-rush moves and explaining the logic behind each of them.
'Everybody comes in different shapes and sizes, and you can always learn from somebody,' Crosby said. 'Guys are getting bigger, faster, stronger, more athletic. They develop faster. … I watched Aaron Donald and Von Miller and Cam when I was a pup. And I was like, 'I don't think I could ever play in the NFL.' These dudes are so good, but it motivated me to try to chase them.'
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Later, the group gathered inside a meeting room to break down film. Overall, the players view the summit as a valuable exchange of information that can help them improve collectively. Despite being a four-time Pro Bowler at age 27, Crosby is still looking for ways to get better.
'That's what this whole thing is about,' Crosby said. 'Obviously, we're on different teams, but for this weekend we're on the same team together. … The pass-rush community is a very tight-knit one. You learn from the best. Seeing those guys and what they do to win, for me it's just about taking as much information as I possibly can and trying to apply it into my game.'
Even more than returning to form individually, Crosby's focus lies on changing the Raiders' fortunes as a franchise. He's already committed to the team for the long haul — he's signed through the 2029 season.
But he has had more head coaches (five) than winning seasons (one). He won't be satisfied until that latter number starts to increase.
'Anytime you go out there, you want to be in a position to win,' Crosby said. 'Individual success and things like that are awesome, but it's not why you play the game. You play to win. We just saw it in the NBA: OKC, just a couple years ago, was one of the worst teams in the league. But they had a lot of young guys, they trusted the process, they developed and now they're the world champions.
'We're trying to win. I want to win so badly. I put everything into it. I want everybody else to think like that. And that's been my goal, just bringing as many guys along as I possibly can.'