Ravens' Mike Evans Lights Up Defenders, Raiders' Jaelan Phillips Struggles in Big Game Clash!
The NFL landscape evolved this month, and so did some opinions on what teams and players came out looking good.
The start of NFL free agency didn’t disappoint with the flurry of moves, such as the Chiefs getting serious about improving their running game, and the Rams, Steelers and Titans each earning A grades for their offseason roster improvements . We also go to indulge on the drama of the Maxx Crosby trade collapse between the Raiders and Ravens . What were the key takeaways and surprises of this free agency period?
And what’s left before we get to the true heart of NFL Draft season? Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein, Charles Robinson, Frank Schwab and Charles McDonald each gave their takes on where we’re at on the NFL scene: Which free-agent signing so far has surprised you the most? Epstein: The answer has to be Trey Hendrickson to the Baltimore Ravens, right?
A week ago, if you told me the team that had agreed in principle to trade two first-round picks for Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby was going to land an edge rusher in Hendrickson whose view of his market outpaced that of the league, I would have thought you’d been hacked. Fast forward through the legal tampering period that became as dicey as it has long risked becoming, and Crosby is back in Las Vegas while the Ravens prepare for a future with Hendrickson. In a vacuum, the Ravens needed a pass rusher; Hendrickson amassed a whopping 35 sacks from 2023-24.
The Ravens knew how he could inflict damage, facing him twice a year as he played for the Cincinnati Bengals. So signing Hendrickson as a closer, even if Hendrickson’s reputation as a run defender and three-down edge rusher lag far behind that of Crosby, isn’t wild. But effectively canceling the Crosby trade to sign Hendrickson, when Crosby was already in your building?
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