The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of problems. But at least they don’t have one potentially catastrophic problem that nearly became a reality last March.

Remember that blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby?

The one that was supposed to transform Baltimore’s defense, terrify opposing quarterbacks and help deliver another Lombardi Trophy?

The one that would have cost the Ravens two first-round draft picks?

Thank goodness that deal fell apart.

Because seven games into the 2026 NFL season, the Ravens aren’t looking like a team that’s one elite pass rusher away from a championship. They’re looking like a team that might need a whole lot more than that.

And if Crosby had passed his physical, Baltimore would be staring at the same organizational questions with considerably fewer resources to answer them.

From Super Bowl Contender to AFC North Cellar Dweller

The Ravens entered the season with legitimate championship expectations. They had Lamar Jackson, a talented roster, a new head coach in Jesse Minter and every reason to believe they could bounce back from a disappointing 2025 campaign.

Instead, they’re 4-3, sitting in last place in the AFC North and suddenly looking like a team capable of missing the playoffs altogether.

Sunday’s 35-13 humiliation against the Cincinnati Bengals was particularly revealing.

Baltimore led 13-0 at halftime. Then Joe Burrow and the Bengals scored 35 unanswered points, turning what looked like a comfortable Ravens victory into another embarrassing collapse.

It was the 10th time since the beginning of the 2022 season that Baltimore had blown a double-digit lead in a loss.

At some point, this stops being bad luck and starts looking like a deeply embedded organizational flaw.

The Ravens have changed defensive coordinators. They’ve changed personnel. They’ve even changed head coaches.

Yet somehow, the same nightmare keeps returning. And now Baltimore finds itself looking up at every other team in the AFC North, including the Cleveland Browns.

That’s not exactly what anyone envisioned when the Ravens were making their offseason Super Bowl plans.

Maxx Crosby Wasn’t Going to Fix All of This

Let’s revisit the trade that nearly happened.

In March, Baltimore agreed to send the Las Vegas Raiders its first-round selections in the 2026 and 2027 NFL Drafts in exchange for Crosby, one of the NFL’s premier defensive players.

It was the ultimate win-now move.

The Ravens believed they had a championship-caliber roster and were willing to mortgage a significant portion of their draft future to acquire the missing piece. Then Crosby underwent his physical.

Baltimore’s medical staff raised concerns about his surgically repaired knee, and the Ravens backed out of the agreement before it became official.

The fallout was ugly. The Raiders were furious. Baltimore was criticized around the league. The Ravens suddenly looked like an organization that had botched one of the biggest transactions of the offseason.

But looking at where things stand today, perhaps the Ravens should send their medical staff a thank-you card. Crosby, as great as he is, wasn’t going to solve everything that’s wrong with this football team.

Would he have improved the pass rush? Almost certainly.

Would he have made opposing quarterbacks less comfortable? Absolutely.

Would he have prevented every blown lead, repaired the offensive line, kept Jackson healthy and eliminated the maddening inconsistency that has plagued this franchise?

Not a chance.

The Ravens’ problems appear much bigger than one missing defensive superstar.

And paying two first-round picks to discover that would have been an extraordinarily expensive lesson.

The Ravens Might Need Draft Picks More Than Another Superstar

Here’s where the failed Crosby trade could become one of the most fortunate developments in recent Ravens history.

Baltimore retained both first-round picks, including the 2026 selection it subsequently used in the draft and its valuable 2027 first-rounder.

The team’s 2026 first round pick was guard Vega Ioane, who had been the team’s best offensive line before going down with a knee injury in the first quarter of the Raven’s loss on Sunday. Ioane’s injury will not keep him out long term, according to a report by ESPN’s Ian Rapoport, but he will be sidelined a few weeks.

The Ravens could be sitting in last place today, facing serious questions about their roster, coaching and organizational direction, without Ioane and without their own first-round pick in the upcoming draft.

Instead, if this season continues spiraling downward, Baltimore could find itself selecting considerably earlier than anyone expected. And that pick could be extremely valuable.

A disappointing season doesn’t have to become a disaster if a franchise has the resources to address its weaknesses.

But a disappointing season without premium draft capital? That’s how teams can turn a one-year setback into a prolonged decline.

The Ravens have historically built their best teams through the draft. That’s how they found Ray Lewis, Jonathan Ogden, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Lamar Jackson and countless other foundational players.

The last thing this organization needs is to abandon that formula while discovering its current roster might not be nearly as good as advertised.

Could the Ravens Actually Become Sellers at the NFL Trade Deadline?

Here’s another possibility that would have sounded ridiculous two months ago.

Instead of shopping for the final piece of a championship puzzle, Baltimore could approach the November 3 trade deadline looking to unload veteran talent. That’s not a decision the Ravens should make lightly.

At 4-3, they’re hardly mathematically eliminated. There’s plenty of football remaining, and a healthy Jackson can change the outlook of almost any team.

But there’s a difference between being mathematically alive and being a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

If the front office concludes this roster isn’t championship material, continuing to sacrifice future assets for a desperate playoff push would be a mistake.

General manager Eric DeCosta should at least be willing to listen to offers for veterans who aren’t central to the team’s long-term plans.

That doesn’t mean staging a fire sale or giving away productive players. It means recognizing that the organization’s future might be more important than preserving the illusion that this team is one transaction away from greatness. A few strategic moves could potentially add draft capital, create financial flexibility and accelerate whatever retooling becomes necessary.

And because the Crosby trade collapsed, the Ravens already have a critical piece of that flexibility.

Sometimes the Best Trade Is the One You Don’t Make

There’s an irony here that’s almost too good to ignore.

Last March, the failed Crosby trade looked like a disaster for Baltimore. Seven months later, it might be one of the best things that happened to the franchise.

That’s not a knock on Crosby. He’s an exceptional player, and the Ravens would undoubtedly benefit from having his talent on the field.

But there’s a time to push all your chips into the middle of the table. That time is when you’re convinced you’re holding a winning hand. Right now, the Ravens look like they may have badly overestimated theirs.

Baltimore eventually pivoted to signing Trey Hendrickson, adding a proven pass rusher without surrendering those two first-round picks. That contract carries its own financial considerations, but at least the Ravens preserved their premium draft capital.

The difference could become enormous if Baltimore continues its slide.

The Ravens may still turn things around. Jackson could return to full strength, the defense could stabilize and Minter could guide his team back into contention.

But the evidence through seven games suggests this season might be headed somewhere nobody in Baltimore wants to go.

Last place in the AFC North.

No playoffs.

Another long offseason filled with uncomfortable questions.

If that’s how 2026 unfolds, at least the Ravens won’t have to watch the Raiders make their first-round selection next April.

And for a franchise whose championship window suddenly looks a lot less secure, that might be the biggest victory of the season.