The Las Vegas Raiders have lost their star pass rusher for the remainder of a lost season.
Maxx Crosby requires surgery for his injured ankle and will miss the rest of the year, the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end announced on his Instagram on Saturday.
"As much as this pains me to write, I will not be playing the rest of the season," Crosby's post read. "Second time this year getting rolled up on the same ankle and now it will require surgery. As much as it pains me to not go to war with my brothers and for the fans, I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I have absolutely zero regrets with my process, my approach and my discipline to this game."
Crosby, who was already declared out for Monday's contest with the Falcons, is set to visit noted foot and ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
The decision to have surgery ends a trying season for Crosby. Although he was stellar as always, the 2-11 Raiders are already guaranteed to at least match their loss total from the 2022 season with four games still left to play, and are one defeat away from matching their worst year of the past decade.
Crosby has nonetheless done his part. He leads Las Vegas with 7.5 sacks, more than double the team's next-best pass rusher, and his 17 tackles for loss are tied for tops in the NFL. Still, remaining on the injury report for a large swath of games and battling through ankle issues has taken a toll, as evidenced from the decision to undergo surgery and tallying just a single sack in the past six games.
Likely Las Vegas' best player, he has no guaranteed money on his contract beyond 2024 and is set to have a $28.2 million cap number for next season, per Over The Cap.
He's proven worth every penny thus far, even during losing seasons, and he has every confidence he'll continue to do so after clearing this surgical hurdle.
"I will get this surgery [and] be on a war path for greatness everyday and be back the best version of myself," his post continued. "I truly believe In my soul that I'm changing the game one snap at a time and changing the way this position is viewed. If you don't believe me, if you have doubts, if you think I need to chill, GOOD… just WATCH ME."
