Maxx Crosbys Latest Camp Clash Puts Raiders Edge In The Spotlight

Maxx Crosby remains unapologetically fiery during practice spats, sparking intense moments and tensions among Raiders teammates.

Maxx Crosby has never been the kind of player to dial it back, and that edge showed up again in Las Vegas Raiders camp on August 7.

During team drills, Crosby got a hand on a quick pass attempt in the backfield, and Kirk Cousins immediately reacted by grabbing the star edge rusher high around the collar. What followed was a heated shouting match between two of the Raiders’ biggest voices.

Coaches and teammates jumped in to break it up, and Crosby was sent to the sideline for the rest of the session. Cousins, meanwhile, stayed on the field and finished the drive.

Head coach Klint Kubiak brushed it off afterward, calling it normal training camp behavior and pointing out that both players are important leaders on the roster.

For Crosby, this kind of moment is hardly new. Back in August 2023, he was involved in a joint-practice fight with the Los Angeles Rams when he and Cam Akers exchanged punches in Thousand Oaks.

The play started with Crosby chasing Akers nearly 25 yards on a run and trying to punch the ball free even after the whistle had effectively blown. Akers clearly took issue with the extra effort, and the two went right at each other.

Both teams rushed in to separate the scuffle, Sean McVay sent Akers to the showers early, and Crosby sat out the rest of the team period after the dust-up. When reporters asked Crosby about it afterward, he made no attempt to apologize.

“S-t, I was just doing what I do,” Crosby said back then. “He didn’t like that.

So he got what he got.”

He smiled as he said it and added that it is what it is. Akers later pushed back on social media and asked what exactly he “got,” saying anyone with eyes could see what happened in the exchange.

Three years later, the setting changed, but the tone looked familiar: Crosby playing fast, the other side taking exception, and the whole practice stopping for a few tense minutes.

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