Maxx Crosby Explains What Went Wrong With Davante Adams & Antonio Pierce

The 2024 season for the Las Vegas Raiders did not go according to plan. Though the team wasn’t expected to be Super Bowl contenders, it did seem like they were at least building a competent team.

Instead, the Raiders were one of the worst teams in the NFL and were in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 pick before they won a couple of games at the end of the season. One of the defining storylines of the year was Davante Adams requesting a trade.

He had previously requested a trade to the Raiders, but quickly soured on the franchise. Defensive end Maxx Crosby is close with Adams, and he believes that the wide receiver never got over the team trading quarterback Derek Carr, which was a big reason he wanted out.

“That’s when it started with the Davante situation. … After that, things got a little rocky, but (Aaron Rodgers) is his guy,” Crosby said on the “Glory Daze with Johnny Manziel” podcast.

Adams was eventually traded to the New York Jets during the season and is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams.

Crosby Addresses Antonio Pierce Firing

After an impressive stint as an interim head coach in 2023, the Raiders decided to promote Antonio Pierce to the full-time job. It didn’t last long, as Pierce proved to be in over his head in his first year in the full-time role.

Crosby also addressed Pierce getting fired.

“The AP situation is unfortunate,” Crosby said. “I went to bat for him. We had a great relationship, but it just didn’t turn out the way we expected.”

The Raiders replaced Pierce with Pete Carroll, so Crosby doesn’t seem too upset about the coaching change this time around.

Elandon Roberts Discusses Crosby

The Raiders have a lot of new players, and Crosby is one of the first players who stand out to them. Not only is he the leader of the team, but his appearance is what initially stuck out to new linebacker Elandon Roberts.

“My first thought was, ‘Damn, he’s really tatted up like this,’” Roberts said on “The Rush.” “He was cool. Maxx is a really cool person, but I had already heard that. Everything I had heard about him, it was like, ‘Okay.’ But bro, getting on the field with Maxx, I was just like, ‘Yeah.’ It was kind of funny. I’m like, ‘Maxx hates to lose. He’s always going to be first. He doesn’t give a damn if he’s doing a drill wrong, but as long as he beats you, he doesn’t care.’”

Everybody knows that Crosby is a hard worker, but Roberts wasn’t prepared for just how intense the star defensive end is about his craft.

“One thing that surprised me about Maxx is how hard, detailed, and competitive he is,” he said. “You see it on Sundays, and everybody can be that on Sunday with everybody watching. But who are you when nobody’s watching you? Maxx competes in front of us; you know how some people do it with coaches around. If you finish your food quicker than Maxx, he might get mad.”