Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has become one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL since being drafted by the team in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Before that, however, it seems like he didn’t have a great experience visiting the Miami Dolphins. In fact, he even told his agent to tell the Dolphins not to draft him.
“Pat (Patrick Graham) was in Miami when I was coming into the league,” Crosby said. “So, I was going on my top 30 visits, and I was in Miami. For the most part, my trip to Miami — I’m not gonna lie — it was rough. All the coaches were super hard on me, and I’m like — I told my agent after — I’m like, ‘I don’t wanna come here.’ I was like, ‘Tell Miami don’t draft me.’
“But my one meeting at Miami that I liked was Pat Graham. And he was so weirdly nice to me, I thought he was being sarcastic.”
Crosby offered some more details about meeting with Graham, who was the Dolphins defensive coordinator at the time. The two-time Pro Bowler thought the coach was being sarcastic by saying Crosby was his favorite player and gassing him up.
Graham spent one season with the Dolphins in that defensive coordinator role before heading to the New York Giants in January of 2020. He is now in his second season as Las Vegas’ defensive coordinator and appears to still have a great relationship with Crosby.
The 26-year-old Crosby has made the Pro Bowl in two straight seasons and looks to be heading toward a third consecutive selection with how he’s been playing in the 2023 season. In six games, he has 35 combined tackles, 5.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits.
He had a massive play in the Raiders’ contest against the New England Patriots on Sunday, sacking quarterback Mac Jones in the end zone to force a safety and help secure a win.
MAXX CROSBY SAFETY 🙏
📺: #NEvsLV on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/B4mQvLOt8O pic.twitter.com/pW4ERJVtdw— NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2023
Some Dolphins fans will surely be disappointed to hear that Crosby didn’t want to join the organization when Brian Flores was the coach of the team.
However, the Dolphins got Christian Wilkins in the same draft, so things didn’t work out too badly for all sides. Furthermore, the team currently has Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips as edge rushers.
To top things off, Miami currently stands 5-1 this season and looks to be a top contender in the AFC. Las Vegas is 3-3 and has gone through some ups and downs.
The two sides will actually face one another later this season in Miami on Nov. 19.
