The “little ass boy” and his new “big ass” teammate have buried the hatchet.
By signing Gardner Minshew to a two-year deal at the onset of free agency, the Raiders made the journeyman quarterback teammates with pass rusher Maxx Crosby, adding new life to an underrated storyline between the two toward the end of the 2023 regular season.
When Minshew’s Colts took on Crosby’s Raiders in Week 17, Indianapolis emerged victorious and Crosby came away without a sack, but he still got to the QB.
As seen on the ensuing episode of Inside the NFL, Crosby chirped at Minshew, calling him a “little ass boy" with regularity.
“Dude, Maxx Crosby is so damn angry,” Minshew was captured telling a teammate on the sideline at the time. “He just keeps calling everybody little ass boy. ‘Hey, little ass boy.’ I’m like, ‘I’m little out here, but not always.’”
Standing at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, Minshew is correct in considering himself above such a label out among the masses. Between the lines, staring down a menacing three-time Pro Bowler like the 6-5, 255-pound Crosby? Perhaps not so much.
Regardless, they have since met in the wake of Minshew's addition to the Silver and Black, with the two hugging it out as he returned the favor by calling Crosby a “big ass boy.”
“Yeah. Sure enough, I saw him,” Minshew said during his introductory news conference Thursday when asked if the two had a conversation about their previous exchanges. “He’s a big ass boy is what he is. God dang. It’s awesome. Those are guys, you know, not as much fun to play against, but if they’re on your team, I absolutely love it. Excited to be with him, , some of the best s--- talkers I’ve been around in the NFL. To have them on our side, to practice against them every day, it’s just going to make me better. I’m super excited about it.”
Wilkins, a fellow free-agent addition and quite a formidable specimen himself at 6-4, 310 pounds, should contribute immediately to the attitude the Raiders have long been famous for.
Along with Crosby, he'll help Las Vegas' defense keep QBs on their toes -- both their own in practice and against others in games.
Minshew will be competing for the right to back his new bullying allies up with points come Week 1.