Chiefs fans would have been fine with what Baltimore did in Maxx Crosby trade

So, how about those Baltimore Ravens?

Baltimore set the NFL world on fire after backing out of a trade for star Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby, becoming public enemy number one in the process.

But is what the Ravens did actually bad, and how would we as Chiefs fans feel if the Kansas City Chiefs did the exact same thing in a similar situation?

Something smells fishy about the Ravens here

On the surface, the situation does not look good for Baltimore. After initially agreeing to a lopsided trade for an expensive, aging, injured pass rusher in Crosby, the Ravens then pulled the pin on the deal citing medical concerns as the reason. 

Then, less than 24 hours later, Baltimore signed defensive end Trey Hendrickson, the top-ranked player available in this year’s free agent class to a massive four-year, $112 million deal. 

It’s a situation that reeks of buyer’s remorse and opportunism, but I can’t decide if what Baltimore did was smart or deceptive. Did they deliberately manipulate a bad deal to take advantage of a lull in the market, or did they just react quickly and intelligently to a player’s injury?

If it were the latter, then Baltimore should actually get credit for being able to move so fast and sign Hendrickson after the Crosby deal went south. If Crosby really is more hurt than they believed or less far along the recovery path than they were told, the Ravens are well within their rights to walk away. From that point, signing Hendrickson seemed like the logical move to make.

But where things get dicey is if Baltimore manipulated things to get a better deal for Hendrickson than they got for Crosby. 

The Ravens knew Crosby had knee surgery in January, so his health status shouldn’t have come as a surprise. How can a player you know is injured then fail a physical because of that injury? If Baltimore used a known injury as a loophole to get out of a deal they got cold feet over to sign a different player whose asking price was less than anticipated, that raises a red flag for me.

It might not technically be against the rules – the trade wasn’t finalized, and failed physicals are a valid reason to renege on a negotiation – but that would shift the situation from smart thinking to deceptive conduct for me.

What if the shoe was on the other foot?

So, what if it were the Chiefs who did this? What if, hypothetically, we replaced the team names, and it was Kansas City and not Baltimore who pulled this off? How would we feel then? 

I would be thrilled as a Chiefs fan. How could you not be? You’re getting a slightly less-impactful talent but still a similar caliber player in Hendrickson instead of Crosby. However, the player joining the team now isn’t coming off a serious knee injury, and you didn’t have to give up two first-rounders to get him.

I’d feel guilty about the way things played out—guilt usually being an indicator that you shouldn’t be doing something in the first place—but also relieved at the same time, too, especially if, as we currently understand, that everything done was within the rules.

For me, I think there is an element of moral gatekeeping being done by anyone who isn’t linked to the Baltimore Ravens right now.

It’s easy to call something out for being against the spirit of the sport when it isn’t your team that’s involved. But if the shoe were on the other foot and it was your team that could take advantage of something within the rules, wouldn’t you want them to do the exact same thing?

The whole thing reminds me of the tush push. It’s a play that gives the Philadelphia Eagles a huge advantage, and everyone outside of Philadelphia hates it. But it’s within the rules, and even those who despise it would likely support it if it were their team that was running it so effectively.

As long as the Ravens didn’t actually cheat during this process and break any rules—lie about the medical report or somehow manipulate the physical in a way that would give them an escape clause—then I’m fine with it.

Is what Baltimore did unprecedented? Yes. Does it all seem a little too convenient? I’d say so too. But is it actually wrong? I don’t think so.