How Raiders’ Maxx Crosby got clean, became a Pro Bowl edge rusher

By Anna Katherine Clemmons
Special to FOX Sports

Maxx Crosby awakened coated in sweat. His toes have been cramping from dehydration. His complete physique damage. He stood up, head spinning, and seemed within the mirror. 

“I do not even f—— acknowledge myself,” he thought. 

It was Feb. 28, 2020. 

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive finish had simply completed a robust rookie season with the then-Oakland Raiders, incomes second place within the AP Rookie Defensive Player of the Year voting to the San Francisco 49ers‘ Nick Bosa. Crosby had began 10 video games and performed in all 16 that season, totaling a team-leading 10 sacks and 47 tackles. 

But as quickly because the season led to January, Crosby began partying. He went on benders till the early morning hours, generally blacking out. Occasionally, he combined in cocaine or different medicine. But it was alcohol that he craved, simply to place him in a good temper to begin his day.

Crosby knew his alcohol dependency wasn’t “regular.” He had tried to get clear earlier than, however his sobriety did not final. 

Now, as he checked out himself within the mirror, he felt like he was at a crossroads. He contemplated his choices: Keep partying and certain spoil his profession earlier than it actually started, or attempt to change — and see simply how good a soccer participant he may very well be.  

Maxx Crosby on and off the sector

Take a behind-the-scenes take a look at Maxx Crosby and the breakout success he had final season for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Crosby wasn’t certain he may keep clear, and he did not even know what he wanted to make that occur. But he was certain that he needed to beat an dependancy he’d harbored since highschool.

“When I resolve to get my s— collectively, I do not suppose something can cease me,” Crosby mentioned. “If I really consider in one thing, I’m going to go to the top of the world to make it occur.” 

He referred to as his agent. He referred to as his former longtime girlfriend, Rachel, regardless that she had damaged up with him two months prior.

“I need assistance,” he informed them each. “I’ve a downside.”

Rachel was residing together with her dad and mom in Florida, the place Crosby had just lately visited her to apologize. She flew to Las Vegas on March 9, 2020; two days later, she and Scott Gorman, a sobriety coach, drove Crosby to an in-patient rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles. 

What he could not know then is that it could work — that he would work exhausting, keep clear and dominate on the sector as a outcome.

Crosby began all 17 video games for Las Vegas within the 2021 common season, main the NFL in QB pressures regardless of taking part in in a protection that blitzed a league-low 12.1% of the time. He became simply the third participant prior to now 15 years to document a minimum of 100 pressures within the common season, becoming a member of Aaron Donald and J.J. Watt. 

In February, the 24-year-old Raiders co-captain performed in his first Pro Bowl, the place, in entrance of a house crowd at Allegiant Stadium, Crosby earned Defensive MVP honors. A couple of weeks later, he signed a four-year, $98.98 million contract extension with Las Vegas. 

“Everyone all the time informed me what I could not do my complete life,” Crosby mentioned. “F— what everybody has to say. That’s how I take a look at it. I need to be the most effective. And if I’m not, I’ll work as exhausting as I can to get near that.”

Pro Bowl defensive MVP Maxx Crosby, left, joked with offensive MVP Justin Herbert after the AFC defeated the NFC 41-35 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The very first thing about Crosby is his first title: The two x’s aren’t a typo. During labor and supply, Maxx’s mom, Vera, says he was caught within the start canal. Doctors needed to break his collarbone and informed Vera that she would have solely a jiffy to push as soon as they did so. 

“I gave the most important push of my life, and I keep in mind everybody going, ‘Oh my gosh, you simply gave start to a toddler!'” Vera mentioned. 

Double-x Maxx was 11 kilos, 9 ounces. 

He wasn’t simply massive, he was robust. Maxx was born with a blocked tear duct, and medical doctors instructed Vera to rub his internal eye to unblock it. But 9 months later, the issue continued. 

Vera took Maxx to a pediatrician, who mentioned he’d unblock the duct with a easy process. A half hour later, he walked into the ready room. “We are going to must anesthetize him,” the physician informed Vera. He and three nurses had tried to carry the infant down. But even with 4 of them, Maxx, who weighed 18 kilos by then, fought so exhausting they could not do the process with him awake.

A decade later, the Crosby household moved from LaPeer, Michigan, to Colleyville, Texas. A chubby, quick child with a shock of orange hair, Maxx was insecure and continuously anxious about what others considered him — besides when he was taking part in sports activities. Football and basketball have been his favorites, and he and his older brother, Myles, would spend hours working towards after college. “Football was all the time a launch — since day one,” Maxx says.

For the primary three years of highschool, he performed center linebacker. Then he grew 4 inches earlier than his senior season, and a new teaching employees moved him to tight finish and defensive finish. Crosby desperately needed to play Division I soccer, however he had no movie at both place.

By Maxx’s junior yr, Myles was a 6-foot-4, 200-pound security at SMU. Brad McCaslin, the defensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan who had recruited Myles, stopped by Maxx’s highschool basketball observe in the future. Myles was there. 

“If you set the ball in his hand, he is a pure athlete,” Myles informed McCaslin. 

The coach invited Maxx to a soccer camp at EMU that June, and Vera drove him all the best way from Colleyville, greater than 17 hours. When Maxx arrived, he went via 5 hours of drills. Finally, the EMU coaches supplied him a spot on the crew. He and Vera stood there, crying. 

“I used to be like, ‘Thank God,’ as a result of no person needed me,” Maxx mentioned. “And I needed it so badly.”

Still, Crosby waited two weeks earlier than committing, simply in case he acquired different presents. He by no means did. Looking again, he says Eastern Michigan was your best option. If he had gone to a massive Division I college, he wonders if he’d even be alive. 

Crosby acquired only one Division I faculty provide, and solely after he drove from Texas to Eastern Michigan to check out at a soccer camp. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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Crosby found alcohol in highschool. “The first time I had a drink, I used to be in love,” he mentioned. It made him assured. He may speak to ladies, he may make individuals snort.

He arrived at Eastern Michigan at 6-4 and solely 217 kilos. “We have been like, that is a downside,” EMU coach Chris Creighton mentioned. “But then he simply went to work. Even as a true freshman, this man was actually exhausting to dam. He was so lengthy. Some of it was the best way he may transfer his physique as an athlete, but additionally in his thoughts, he knew how to maneuver.”

As a freshman, Crosby redshirted and was voted defensive scout crew participant of the yr. In 2017, as a redshirt sophomore, he was voted first-team all-conference and crew MVP. Following that season, he informed his defensive position coach he deliberate to enter the NFL Draft.  

But simply earlier than the beginning of spring ball, Crosby was arrested for a DUI. He was suspended one sport and mandated to finish neighborhood service and each day drug testing and counseling. 

He had met Rachel the yr earlier than, they usually had began relationship quickly after. Initially, Rachel says she had “new relationship blinders” on towards his ingesting. But as time handed, and his partying got progressively worse, she knew he had a downside. She referred to as others to ask for assist in speaking to Maxx about it. People typically responded, “however he is taking part in so properly.”

“That was actually exhausting on me for a very long time,” Rachel mentioned. “I knew if he did not get and keep sober, that may very well be the demise of his soccer.”

The DUI meant Crosby wanted to remain at EMU one other season — and keep clear. In 2018, he began 12 video games and totaled 70 tackles, ending the yr ranked tenth nationally in pressured fumbles per sport and seventh in tackles-for-loss per sport. He was named first crew all-MAC for the second consecutive yr. 

And he stayed sober your complete season. 

After a robust NFL Combine, Crosby was chosen by the Raiders within the fourth spherical, 106th total, of the 2019 draft.

“I used to be stunned at how athletic he was,” former Raiders defensive position coach Rod Marinelli mentioned. “He had that basically good bend, and that is one thing you search for in a rusher. The effort was there and the ‘need to.’ You may see that he actually desires it.”

Crosby has turn into a fan favourite for his high-motor play and sack celebrations. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images by way of Getty Images)

In Oakland, there have been no courses to attend, no educational advisors, no mates to assist monitor his ingesting. Rachel had moved to Oakland with him initially, however she broke up with him in December 2019 and moved to her dad and mom’ house in Florida. Crosby toggled between his standout rookie season and his partying, pressured and exhausted. 

Until he determined he had had sufficient.

After calling Rachel and his agent, Crosby went on one final bender earlier than Rachel and Gorman drove him from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on March 11, 2020. Crosby fumed your complete four-hour drive, depressing and livid. He needed to get clear, however he did not need to go to rehab. 

“It was the most effective choice I ever made,” he says now. 

Crosby stayed on the therapy middle for 30 days. No cell telephones have been allowed; as a substitute, sufferers got one hour a day to name mates or household on a landline. Crosby says he embraced “every part” concerning the rehab expertise, together with creating relationships with fellow attendees, one among whom he’s nonetheless in contact with right this moment. He referred to as mates he had damage, making amends. 

“Getting clear is not simply getting sober,” Crosby mentioned. “It’s cleansing up every part.”

The 2020 season was Crosby’s hardest. He fought to remain clear and tried to fill the hole with consuming an excessive amount of, not sleeping sufficient and taking part in hours of video video games. He had a torn labrum in his left shoulder and had damaged a titanium plate that was in his proper hand from a earlier harm, however he began each sport anyway.

“It was a exhausting f—— yr, however I like that that yr occurred,” Crosby mentioned. “I used to be like, ‘I’m not giving up.'”

In January 2021, after the season, Crosby had shoulder and hand surgical procedure. He then met with the Raiders’ diet crew and energy coaches on the crew’s Vegas facility. 

“I’m going to be right here each single day,” he informed them, “so we have to lay out a plan to get me to the most effective bodily degree I can.” 

He lower weight and labored out relentlessly. He studied movie for hours. He and Rachel had gotten again collectively as he entered rehab; she moved to Las Vegas to stay with him and helped him keep centered, planning meals and becoming a member of him for nights out, the place he drank solely water.

In the Raiders’ first 2021 regular-season sport, Crosby exploded for a sack of Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson within the first quarter. “You may simply see it from the primary snap, the best way he got here off the road,” Myles mentioned. “I used to be like, ‘This yr is completely different. He isn’t going to be stopped.'”

In Week 6, Crosby had three enormous sacks on Denver Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater. Raiders tight finish Darren Waller watched Crosby work, describing how, on a type of sacks, he initially rushed exterior, got here again via the center and exploded to take down the QB. “The means he sacked him, I used to be like, ‘Man, I actually thought he was going to die,'” Waller mentioned of Bridgewater.

Waller, who has overcome his own substance abuse issues, noticed that play as emblematic of the disruptor Crosby has turn into. “I’ve by no means seen somebody with a motor each single day, taking part in completely ballistic on the sector in the case of effort.”

Despite the Raiders’ quite a few off-field challenges in 2021, they made the playoffs for the primary time since 2016. Crosby additionally went to his first Pro Bowl and dominated, profitable defensive MVP after totaling 5 tackles, three move deflections, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

In the AFC wild-card sport final season, Crosby’s first postseason look, he sacked Joe Burrow and had two tackles for loss, however the Raiders misplaced to the Bengals 26-19. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

And then he got proper again to work. This offseason was his most regimented but: He awakened at 5:50 a.m. daily and drove to the power, returning house mid-afternoon armed with dietary supplements, wholesome meals and a strict hydration, diet and restoration plan.

“I really feel like I’m the hardest-working man within the league,” Crosby mentioned. “That’s how I strategy daily.”

On March 11, 2022, the two-year anniversary of his sobriety, Crosby signed his four-year, $98.98 million extension with the Raiders. Six days later, he stood in senior defensive assistant Rob Ryan’s workplace, asking for a movie cut-up of fellow D-ends Joey Bosa and Chandler Jones. New Raiders coach Josh McDaniels walked in.

“You’re not gonna consider who we simply signed,” he mentioned.

“Who?” Crosby requested.

“Chandler Jones,” McDaniels replied.

“No f—— means!” Crosby yelled. 

He and Jones had turn into mates a number of seasons prior, when Jones had despatched Crosby a DM on Instagram, asking about a sure transfer he’d made. The two started swapping concepts and recommendation. 

Now, they determine to be one of the crucial feared defensive-end duos within the NFL.

“Playing with somebody of Maxx’s caliber — his information, who constantly will get to the quarterback like he does,” Jones mentioned, “I understand how uncommon that chance is throughout the league.”

Crosby has set his cellphone’s wallpaper and lock display screen as fixed reminders of his targets. Last yr, his lock display screen was the 100 emoji with a plus image, as a result of he needed greater than 100 QB pressures and a $100 million-plus contract. 

This season, his lock display screen is the Defensive Player of the Year trophy. 

“He has a actually efficient exterior spin transfer that I’m very jealous of,” reigning DPOY T.J. Watt mentioned of Crosby. “I love the quantity of hustle he performs with and the technical strikes he has. He has that relentless, tenacious angle of getting after the quarterback. We by no means surrender on a play; we’re all the time making an attempt the second, third, fourth rushes.”

Crosby’s cellphone background is the gold Hall of Fame jacket. “That shall be there till I get in,” he mentioned, smiling. 

Maxx and Rachel got engaged in February. They’re anticipating their first child, a lady, in October. He and Rachel are advocates for “Stand Up For Pits” (they personal three rescues themselves), and he began his personal “Blue Wire” video podcast in 2022. 

Crosby attended the eleventh Annual NFL Honors in February along with his fiancée, Rachel, who helped him get clear. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Through all of it, he’s decided to remain clear. Crosby attends weekly AA conferences on Zoom and doesn’t draw back from speaking about his journey, whether or not on podcasts, via social media packages just like the Reframe app, or in conversations with followers. 

“He is impacting and influencing an unknown variety of individuals,” EMU’s Creighton mentioned. “It’s one factor to sack QBs and get pressures. But he’s actually serving to individuals with their lives.”

Crosby will be pensive and considerate, sharing messages akin to “Be Yourself … Everybody Else is Already Taken.” He may also be a jokester, like when he filmed Jones sleeping on the crew facility for an Instagram story (after which woke him up). He loves UFC fights, tattoos and automobiles. He is totally content material hanging out at house with Rachel and their canines. And he cannot wait to be a dad. 

Sobriety, he says, has made all of it doable.

“The performs and all that s—, going to a Pro Bowl, that is superb, however doing this s— daily when I haven’t got to?” Crosby mentioned, referring to his sobriety. “That’s what I’m most pleased with.”

He is barely 24, however others typically inform him he is an previous soul. Except, that’s, when he is on the sector. After he makes a massive play, Crosby will leap, dance, fist pump and hype the gang. 

“I’m an entertainer on the sector,” he mentioned. “I need individuals considering, ‘Holy s—, he’s having a f—— blast on the market.’ But I’m actually working my ass off.”

So a lot in order that the Raiders’ energy employees has needed to encourage him to decelerate, take a time without work — and even an hour. His relentless, zealous strategy has made him a fan favourite (Las Vegas artist Dean Huck painted a whole storage door mural of Crosby). “Mad Maxx” is usually stopped for images and autographs when out in Vegas, and his No. 98 jersey is among the hottest sellers for the Raiders. He loves all of it. Though reserved when he first meets somebody, he’s very happy to have interaction with followers.

He significantly focuses on recommendation that Marinelli shared with him earlier than the longtime NFL coach retired: to carry on to his “child-like love” for the sport.

“There isn’t any higher feeling than making a massive play or dominating a grown-ass man in entrance of you for 4 quarters,” Crosby mentioned. “My love for the sport retains rising, as a result of I’m placing in a lot work on my ability, physique and thoughts. 

“Now that I’m all there and current and get to really take pleasure in the way it feels to be a nice participant, it is unbelievable. I like each second of it.”

Anna Katherine Clemmons is a nationwide freelance author and an assistant professor within the Department of Media Studies on the University of Virginia.