The Baltimore Ravens have been a model of consistency for decades. Over the last 20 years, they’ve won a Super Bowl, made the playoffs 13 times, and celebrated seven AFC North titles.
They’ve also tormented the Cleveland Browns to the tune of a 30-10 rivalry record over that span. It doesn’t matter if it’s the start of free agency, the NFL Draft, or the regular season, Browns fans have rarely experienced a sense of joy when it comes to the Ravens, the franchise that literally relocated from Cleveland back in 1996.
This offseason might finally be the outlier, though. The Ravens are off to an absolutely brutal start to 2026, and Browns fans can finally sit back and enjoy some theater that’s not at their own expense for once.
What was a slow Day 2 of the NFL’s legal tampering period blew up on Tuesday night with news of the Ravens backing out of their recent blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby. The Ravens had agreed to send two first-round picks to Las Vegas for the superstar edge rusher. It was only pending a physical, which Crosby reportedly failed, prompting Baltimore to pull the plug and send a massive shockwave through the NFL world.
The ripple effect could take days to sort out. Will the Raiders look to trade Crosby to another team, after committing an NFL-leading $281.5 million to new player contracts so far this week? Would Vegas back out of any of its pending free agent agreements, which can’t be made official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday?
Those questions and more will be answered in the coming days, but this is definitely a full-blown mess, and the Ravens are right in the middle of it.
Ravens’ Maxx Crosby twist is pure comedy for Browns fans
The Browns are used to being the butt of the joke in the AFC North, but they’re looking like a functional NFL franchise in comparison to Baltimore since the end of the 2025 regular season.
For starters, Cleveland poached both head coach Todd Monken and offensive coordinator Travis Switzer from John Harbaugh's former staff. Harbaugh, meanwhile, is now the head coach of the New York Giants. The Ravens are still breaking in the Jesse Minter era, and so far, not everyone's been along for the ride.
Over the first two days of legal free agent negotiations alone, the Ravens have lost key starters in center Tyler Linderbaum, tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, defensive end Dre’Mont Jones, and safety Alohi Gilman. Their only “splash” signing so far has been guard John Simpson, who’s returning to the team after a two-year stint with the New York Jets.
The Crosby decision is not only a brutal look, as it was well known that Crosby’s 2025 season ended early due to a knee injury, but it throws gas on the team’s silent start to free agency. Baltimore had just acquired Crosby and the remaining term on the three-year, $106.5 million contract that he signed last year. That new money suddenly being deleted from Baltimore’s books clearly changes things, but it’s not like the Ravens can get those frenetic 48 hours of legal free-agent tampering back.
There’s time for the Ravens’ new regime to sort things out, but that stability over the last 18 years with Harbaugh at the helm? That feels long gone right now.
For Browns fans, these next few days will be a great time to sit back, relax, and enjoy their bitter rival being the NFL's punchline for a change.