Maxx Crosby isn’t afraid to take risks for the sake of success when it comes to the Raiders’ future.
That’s what seemingly transpired when the Las Vegas defensive end “spoke my mind” with the future of then-interim head coach Antonio Pierce in doubt after a 27-14 season-finale win against the Broncos on Jan. 7.
The next week, Crosby, who was vocal about his support of Pierce getting a full-time job, said on his “The Rush,” podcast, “I want to be a Raider … but if we go in a different direction, there is nothing that is off the table.”
That, according to NFL Network, included threatening a trade demand if Pierce wasn’t promoted.
“I mean, sometimes being a leader isn’t the most popular thing… it’s not the easiest thing,” Crosby told The Post while discussing his experience with Invisalign, which are clear aligners and a faster and more comfortable option for teeth straightening than braces.
“It’s not always about doing the easiest and most popular route. And for me, I know I spoke for myself — that’s what being a leader is. And I was speaking for the guys, I was speaking for the organization. And that’s all that matters to me.”
Whatever Crosby said clearly worked.
Pierce, who was a linebackers coach, posted a 5-4 record as interim head coach of the Raiders in 2023 — after Josh McDaniels was fired in November, along with general manager David Ziegler.
The Raiders looked like a different team in the back half of the season, and Pierce won over the locker room quickly due to his embodiment of the “Raider way,” which Crosby embraced.
“I want to win,” the 26-year old Crosby said. “If I got to take heat for standing up for what everybody believes in, I’ll do that every single time, because I know I’m coming from a good place and I just want to win. I put in work all year round. I’m here in the building more than coaches, more than execs. I’m here every single day, sacrificing myself and my body and putting my body on the line to help this team win and I want everybody else with that same mentality.
With that said, Crosby, who is one of the Raiders’ captains, believes he’s paid his dues to weigh in on what’s best for the team.
“So I feel like I’ve earned that right to speak my mind, and share what I believe is best for the team, and, that’s what I did,” he said. “And I stand by it.
“Some people had their own feelings and whatever opinions on it, but at the end of the day, it’s all white noise. I show up every day, and I put in work like no other… and it doesn’t stop. So that’s just kind of what it was. I was standing up for everybody in the building, standing up for my guys, and, you know, I’ll do it every single time.”
Crosby is coming off his best season yet, finishing his fifth campaign with 90 combined tackles, 14.5 sacks, 31 QB hits, 23 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
He earned his third straight Pro-Bowl selection and second All-Pro nod in 2023.
But it was also the season during which he faced the most adversity in his career.
Crosby played through a knee injury for 16 straight weeks and underwent surgery on Jan. 17.
“So, basically explaining it, my bursae was destroyed and dismantled, so when I blew it up the first time, it’s like, OK, it could possibly heal if you get off it and whatever, but I played 16 straight weeks with it in practice and ran and all type of s–t,” Crosby said Monday in the latest installment of his “The Rush” podcast. “So, it just kept getting worse, and every game, I kept landing on it and it kept blowing up. So, obviously, it got infected at one point.”
Crosby described the pain as “getting a softball and smashing it” against his knee and tibia.
Not long after, the NFL star underwent a second surgery on his right hand, according to a photo he shared on Instagram on Jan. 30, which showed him wearing an arm sling while posing with a nurse.
Crosby, who was sporting a cast on his right hand while speaking with The Post, said he’s feeling really good following both procedures.
“I tore my UCL in my thumb, and I was playing through that as well,” he said. “… And most people wouldn’t play, but I did. If I can go, I can go, and that’s what I try to show my guys… I had the best season of my career so far. And the next season I plan on taking it to another level.”
The Eastern Michigan product — who was selected by the then-Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft — went on explain why Pierce, a Super Bowl champion and Pro-Bowler with the Giants, is the right fit for the head coach job, and the similarities he has with the nine-year NFL veteran player.
“I feel like what makes him different is that he was a former player. He understands our perspective,” Crosby said. “I understand that you don’t have to be a player to be a great coach… but when you have a coach that was a great player and also a great coach, then it’s a great formula and guys follow that and they understand it — and it’s easy to have a real man-to-man conversation because he’s been in your shoes before.
“… Me and him have that — you know when you’re around another alpha dog? You know when they walk in the room. So me and him immediately knew we showed each other respect. Coach was always testing me … he knows how to get under my skin and I know how to get under his skin, and he knows how to get the best out of me. He was a former captain who’s a former Super Bowl champion, and that’s what makes him special.”
As Crosby recovers from two offseason surgeries, he’s also taking care of his teeth with Invisalign, which is used by over 400 NFL players across 32 teams.