One of the more surprising developments from last week was star defensive end and team captain Maxx Crosby suiting up for the team’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Crosby had been listed as doubtful for the game and was dealing with an infection in his knee.
The Raiders star was bedridden for much of the week leading up to the game and spent time in the hospital as well. Considering he has never missed a game in his NFL career, no one would have blamed him for sitting out one, considering everything he was going through.
But Crosby would not be denied and did everything possible to be on the field. And it is that mindset that Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce wants the entire franchise to match, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic:
“You always wonder if he’s going to get burnt out, but he’s not,” Pierce said. “Our building needs to match his purpose, his why, his energy, his effort.”
Across his five-year career, Crosby has never missed a game. No one would blame him if he asked for more rest, but he hasn’t.
“He’s relentless,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said.
Relentless is the perfect way to describe Crosby both on and off the field. That energy is always seen on the field every week, which is why he is regarded as one of the premier defensive players in the NFL today. Crosby lives in the backfield despite never having a consistent player on the opposite side of the line to help take some attention and pressure away.
But getting on the field against the Chiefs was something no one thought was possible, but Crosby wouldn’t be denied. The Raiders star spent Thanksgiving in the hospital getting an emergency procedure done on his knee, which had become infected.
The Raiders star was right back at the training facility on Friday, getting a workout in and rehabbing that knee and would eventually get the test results he needed over the weekend to be cleared to suit up despite not practicing all week long.
Crosby was nowhere near himself, recording just one tackle against the Chiefs, but it was yet another sack of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. And now that the Raiders have had their bye week, Crosby has had time to recover and should be back to his normal self, which is bad news for the Minnesota Vikings.
