Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby was not supposed to be on the field Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Crosby was listed as doubtful as he has not only been dealing with a knee injury but also an illness that led to him spending time in the hospital on Thursday.
But against all odds, there was Crosby on the field Sunday against the Chiefs. He was clearly hampered by everything he was dealing with, but still managed to get a sack on Patrick Mahomes, bringing him up to 11.5 on the year.
Afterward, Crosby opened up about the week he had in trying to get on the field for the Raiders, admitting it was a long, rough few days.
“They’ve been rough,” Crosby said after the 31-17 loss. “Long week, I battled a lot of things. But I don’t want to miss any games regardless. Things happen in life, I’ve been through a lot in general, so some people have their opinions, think I’m crazy. But I know I’m crazy, so it’s fine. I love it.
No one would have blamed Crosby for missing this game as he also admitted there were some “real issues” and “some infections” he was dealing with that forced him to take that hospital visit. But Crosby is determined to suit up for every game and he thanked the Raiders staff for helping get him on the field Sunday.
“Everything I do, I do with a purpose, and I did everything in my power all week and I can’t give enough credit to everybody on the Raiders staff. Alex Guerrero, Tim Harkins, all those guys they did everything in their power, and I pissed them off and kept them up all night trying to get on the field. So, I can’t say enough about those guys.”
Maxx Crosby is truly a one-of-a-kind player and person which is why he is truly one of the pillars of this Raiders franchise. He is exactly who any franchise would want to build around and is a leader of this team and things like this show why.
Thankfully for Crosby, the Raiders are set to enter their bye week so he will be able to take a little break to heal up for this stretch run. That sack on Mahomes was Crosby’s only tackle on Sunday and you can bet he won’t have another game with numbers that low again this season as he continues to prove he’s one of the elite defenders in the NFL.