Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby will not play in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants due to a lingering knee injury, coach Pete Carroll told reporters Friday.
Carroll said it’s possible Crosby will also miss the team’s regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18, despite pushback from the seven-year veteran, who left the team facility upon receiving the news about Sunday’s game.
“He didn’t want to take the news like that, and I didn’t want to take the news like that,” Carroll told reporters. “… If we let him, he would have been out there, and he would not have hesitated, but he knows that he’s banged up. So he’s talking about, ‘I’d like to get out of here.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, get out of here.’ So, he took off.”
Asked if Crosby left the facility angry, Carroll said his reaction was “exactly like you would think he would do, and he should do” given the competitor that he is.
“I agree with him 1,000% on how he responded, and I (would have) responded the same way, and I get it,” Carroll said. “We thought our way through it and hopefully came to the right conclusion for his long-(term) betterment.”
Crosby’s absence comes ahead of what will be a pivotal Week 17 game against the Giants, a matchup between the two teams tied for the worst record (2-13) in the NFL, with the loser getting the inside track to securing the No. 1 selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Raiders had already ruled out star tight end Brock Bowers for the season, as well as starting safety Jeremy Chinn, prior to Carroll revealing the Crosby news Friday.
Crosby has been on the Raiders’ injury report with a knee injury since Week 12, following a 33-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football,” but he has not missed a game this season.
“He’s been fighting this thing for nine weeks, whenever (the) Kansas City (game) was,” Carroll said. “Each week, he has done everything you could possibly imagine a guy could do to play, and he’s been able to. And they have worked with him to get through it. But after an evaluation we did Monday or Tuesday, whenever it was, it just looks too bad.”
For the first two weeks of dealing with his knee injury, Crosby was listed as either a limited participant or a full participant in practice. However, since Week 14, Crosby has been listed as a non-participant in at least one practice each week.
The 28-year-old has tallied 10 sacks in 15 games this season, as well as two forced fumbles and an interception. He was recently selected to the Pro Bowl, along with fellow edge rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Myles Garrett. Crosby, who entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2019, missed the Pro Bowl his first two seasons but has earned the honor in each of his last five seasons.
Durability has been one of the hallmarks of Crosby’s career. He played in every single game for the first five years with the Raiders, and he missed just five games in 2024 while dealing with a lingering ankle injury that finally ended his season in Week 15 and required surgery.
“Yeah, I don’t give a s— about the pick, to be honest,” Crosby said during a Raiders locker room media session Tuesday. “I don’t play for that. That’s not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world. That’s what I focus on every day. Being a great leader, being an influence. Being that guy on a consistent basis for my team.”
Fox Sports first reported news of Crosby being shut down.
