RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive end Maxx Crosby were held out of Aug. 8’s practice for disciplinary reasons following their fight during Aug. 7’s practice.
Cousins and Crosby got into a heated altercation during practice. The five-time Pro Bowler hit Cousins twice during the team period, and after Crosby hit his arm a second time, the 15-year veteran had enough.
Afterward, Cousins confronted Crosby and grabbed the edge rusher’s jersey as the two exchanged words before teammates broke it up. Nonetheless, both players returned to practice after the scuffle.
Crosby plays with a relentless motor and rarely takes a play off, but his approach has drawn criticism following his incident with Cousins. Mike Kadlick of Sports Illustrated pointed out that there is a time and place to play with that kind of intensity, and a situation involving Cousins is not one of them.
“On one hand, Crosby’s effort during practice is commendable,” Kadlick wrote in an Aug. 8 article . “After all, that’s where you hone your craft—and his work ethic is part of the reason why he was able to go from a product of a non-power five school to one of the league’s best edge rushers. On the other (more realistic) hand, however, there’s levels to this.
“You can still work hard without being reckless, and in Crosby’s case, there’s evidence that his practice style bleeds into the game. Since entering the league in 2017, Crosby has been penalized 40 times , including eight for roughing the passer, six for unnecessary roughness and one for unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Raiders’ Maxx Crosby Broke Major Rule in Practice
Moreover, Kadlick stressed that Crosby broke a major rule in practice: Don’t touch the quarterback. As a result, it came as no surprise that Cousins had a problem with the veteran pass rusher.
“There’s a golden rule in football practice: Don’t hit the quarterback, “ Kadlick noted. “It’s why they wear a bright red jersey that effectively screams ‘leave me alone ‘ during every session. Quarterbacks play the most important role in the sport and can make or break not only a team’s season, but also their long-term future as a franchise.”
Maxx Crosby Issues Advice for Fernando Mendoza
Regarding Crosby, he recently was talking about another QB on the Raiders team, Fernando Mendoza . Furthermore, whether Crosby stays with the Raiders long-term or not remains a mystery, but the veteran appears intent on ensuring the team has a franchise QB who can lead the way he has during his time with the Silver and Black.
“I’ve been intentional with all the things I’m doing, and I want to be intentional with everything, “ Crosby said while speaking to the NFL Network on Aug. 3 . “So that includes leadership. Fernando’s a great kid. He’s got all the talent in the world, and I want him to have all the success in the world and help lead that offensive side and not wait to be a leader.
“Rich Bisaccia told me as a rookie, I was out there as a young guy, a fourth-round pick with no expectations, but I was the most productive guy. One day, he pulled me into his office and said, ‘Don’t wait to lead. If you want to win, don’t wait to lead. If you want to sit around and let these other guys who shouldn’t be in a position to lead, good luck. ‘ I took that to heart, and I’ve been doing that ever since. So, yeah, we’ve got to have leaders all across the board.”
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