Maxx Crosby was a fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan, and during his rookie season with the Las Vegas Raiders, the edge rusher knew the coaching staff had limited expectations for him. That, however, changed after he was named the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year and recorded 10 sacks. Following that stellar performance, expectations for Crosby suddenly became sky-high.

Heading into his sophomore season, however, Crosby wasn’t in the right place. The veteran edge rusher was partying and struggling with alcoholism, a habit he had dealt with since his high school days. By the time he was preparing to begin his second NFL season, Crosby couldn’t recognize the person staring back at him in the mirror.

That eventually led him to check into rehab before the season began. However, while Crosby ultimately became sober, he still faced backlash from his fans after failing to replicate his rookie season’s success.

“I cleaned my whole life up, went and got surgery,” Crosby said on the Ball in the Family Podcast. “I was playing with a torn labrum, playing with a broken hand, trying to stay sober, no fans in the crowd. I’m getting murdered by my own fan base. And I still didn’t pick up a drink or smoke or none of that. And that was like the biggest year that changed my life because I know a lot of people would have f—ing folded, and I was at my lowest of lows.”

Crosby finished his rookie year after recording 47 combined tackles, 36 solo tackles, and 10 sacks. But at the same time, he was still dealing with his drinking habits. The 28-year-old developed the habit after experimenting with alcohol as a sophomore in high school. And while expectations for Crosby soared after his strong 2019 season, the edge rusher revealed that he was partying ahead of his second NFL season.

The results, however, were not in Crosby’s favor. Even after becoming sober, Crosby’s numbers dropped during the 2020 season. He started 16 games, but finished with three fewer sacks and eight fewer tackles, while his pass deflections dropped from four to one. He also went from four forced fumbles to none.

But even then, those were far from poor stats. Most notably, though, his PFF pass-rushing grade dropped to 58.2 in that year as well. The criticism from fans was evident, and Maxx Crosby knew it very well.

At the same time, he was consciously trying to stay sober and kept much of what he was going through private. Fans only learned more in 2021, when Crosby revealed his rehab journey during the 2020 offseason.

“It got to a point after my rookie year my life became unmanageable,” Crosby said. “Alcohol, partying and all that s— became too much of a distraction in my life. It became just overwhelming. I’ve always had issues with drinking and partying throughout high school and college. I’ve been able to slip by and get by, but it became too much for me and it’s always been that one crutch.

“Alcoholism runs in my family and I’m an alcoholic. So, for me, I knew it was something that was always a crutch. I always knew I had a problem. I knew I couldn’t just drink like everybody else. I got ahead of it. My first year of sobriety is always the hardest and that was last year. I had a lot of ups and downs. Mentally it was really tough for me.”

Fast forward to now, and Maxx Crosby has been sober for six years. To celebrate the personal milestone, Crosby hosted a lavish party in March 2026 and received a shout-out from his wife, Rachel Crosby, who wrote in a social media post, “Our man is 6 years sober 🖤.”

That said, Crosby is heading into the 2026 season after dominating the headlines amid potential trade rumors. While the Raiders had traded the 28-year-old to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this offseason, the team backed out of the trade after Crosby failed the physical. This is why Crosby is all set to start his eighth season as a Raider.