A deal isn’t a deal until it’s official.
The Las Vegas Raiders learned that hard lesson Tuesday night when the Baltimore Ravens backed out of a blockbuster trade for star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
A person with knowledge of Baltimore’s decision told The Associated Press that Crosby failed his physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those results are private.
Crosby underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He missed the final two games of the season because of the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time.
Crosby’s surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, told ESPN that Crosby is “doing very well in the early part of his rehab and recovery from surgery to treat a significant meniscus tear and the related stress injury to the bone and cartilage in his knee. He is certainly on track in his planned program.”
The Ravens obviously weren’t comfortable with Crosby’s medical report, especially with two first-round picks at stake.
They quickly pivoted to four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, agreeing on a $112 million, four-year deal, a person with knowledge of that contract told the AP. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract can’t be finalized until the start of the league year at 4 p.m. EDT.
NFL teams have committed billions of dollars on free agents and players acquired in trades since the start of the legal tampering period on Monday.
However, none of the transactions can be finalized until the new league years begins. That means trades can be nixed and free agents can change their minds. It’s all business.
In 2015, running back Frank Gore agreed on a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles only to sign with the Indianapolis Colts two days later.
Gore was a veteran pursuing a team with Super Bowl aspirations. After he accepted Philadelphia’s offer, the team traded quarterback Nick Foles and let star wide receiver Jeremy Maclin sign with Kansas City. So Gore backed out of the agreement.
The Ravens previously nixed deals with defensive tackle Michael Brockers in 2020 and wide receiver Ryan Grant in 2018 for similar reasons, while the Raiders did the same in 2014 with a deal with free agent offensive lineman Rodger Saffold.
Baltimore now keeps the 14th overall pick in next month’s draft and hopes Hendrickson can produce the way he did before his injuries last season.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have to figure out what to do with Crosby after his relationship with the team seemingly deteriorated. It’s possible part-owner Tom Brady can help mend fences between Crosby and the organization. New coach Klint Kubiak wasn’t there last season when things fell apart and general manager John Spytek said all along he’d prefer to keep the superstar pass rusher. Crosby was back in the team building Wednesday, a person with knowledge said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Raiders aren't publicly discussing the situation beyond a statement released Tuesday night.
The Raiders have been aggressive in free agency, committing more than a quarter-billion dollars to three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean, wide receiver Jalen Nailor and other players.
Because they entered free agency with nearly $112 million in salary cap space, according to overthecap.com, they could absorb Crosby’s cap hit. He signed a three-year extension a year ago worth $106.5 million, with $91.5 million guaranteed, that briefly made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.
If the Raiders still want to move Crosby, it’ll be difficult to get the same return now that he has a medical red flag. They may have to wait until he’s further along in his recovery or settle for a trade that includes conditions. Perhaps they get a second-round pick that converts to a first if Crosby plays a set number of snaps and a third that becomes a second. Teams can be creative.
Maybe the Eagles, Bears, Bills, Jaguars or another team pursue Crosby. It’ll come down to what Las Vegas is willing to accept. The rebuilding Raiders have several new additions and are expected to select Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Are they better with Crosby in 2026? Yes. Will they be better off without him? Depends on the return.
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FILE - Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) looks on during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker, File)
FILE - Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) rushes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker, File)
PARIS (AP) — Activists worldwide held May Day rallies and street protests Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war.
May 1 is a public holiday in many countries to mark International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day, when workers’ unions traditionally rally around wages, pensions, inequality and broader political issues. Demonstrations were held from Seoul, Sydney and Jakarta to many European capitals. In the U.S., activists opposing President Donald Trump’s policies also held marches and boycotts.
“Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organizations in 41 European countries, said. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”
What to know about May Day:
Rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East emerged as a key theme in Friday’s rallies.
In the Philippine capital, Manila, large crowds denounced the U.S. role in the Iran war. Protesters clashed with police blocking the way near the U.S. Embassy.
On a main avenue in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city, taxi drivers honked their horns and bus drivers parked their vehicles to protest rising fuel costs.
“All my expenses have gone up, but my wages haven’t budged,” Akherraz Lhachimi of the Moroccan Labor Union said.
Turkish authorities in Istanbul detained hundreds of demonstrators for attempting to march in areas declared off-limits on security grounds, most notably central Taksim Square, the epicenter of 2013 protests. May Day rallies in Turkey are frequently marred by clashes with authorities.
Tens of thousands of people crowded into a public square across from the U.S. Embassy in Havana, celebrating Cuba's workers and decrying U.S. sanctions. Many held banners that read, “Down with Imperialism” and “U.S. hands off Cuba.” President Miguel Díaz-Canel and former President Raúl Castro attended.
A demonstration in Santiago, Chile, ended with vandalism and clashes between protesters and police, who used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Other demonstrations in the South American nation were peaceful as thousands of workers took to the streets to demand better working conditions.
Several thousand people gathered across Portugal as unions rallied together to protest proposed changes to labor laws that would make worker dismissals easier, limit how long breastfeeding women can claim a flexible work schedule and reduce miscarriage bereavement leave, among other things.
“It’s the only voice we have. If it may or not have power over those that decide? That’s another issue, but we need to tell them we are not happy with what we have,” public sector worker Paulo Domingues said.
Several rallies were staged in South Africa, where the head of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Zingiswa Losi, said workers were “suffocating” under rising costs of food, electricity, transportation and healthcare.
May Day carries special meaning this year in France, after a heated debate about whether employees should be allowed to work on the country’s most protected public holiday — the only day when most employees have a mandatory paid day off.
Tens of thousands of people joined marches across the country, including in Paris, where brief scuffles with police broke out.
Almost all businesses, shops and malls are closed, and only essential sectors such as hospitals, transport and hotels are exempt.
A recent parliamentary proposal to expand work on the day prompted major outcry from unions and left-wing politicians. Faced with the dispute, the government this week introduced a bill that would allow bakeries and florists to open. It is customary in France to give lily of the valley flowers on May Day as a symbol of good luck.
“May 1 is not just any day,” Small and Medium-sized Businesses Minister Serge Papin said. “It symbolizes social gains stemming from a century of building social rules that have led to the labor code we know in France.”
In the United States, where May Day is not a federal holiday, May Day Strong, a coalition of activist groups and labor unions, urged people to protest under the banner of “workers over billionaires” and called for an economic blackout through “no school, no work, no shopping.”
Protesters voiced opposition to Trump's policies, including his immigration crackdown.
“We’re seeing tons and tons of attacks on working people and on oppressed communities from the Trump administration, both at home and abroad,” said Kathryn Stender, an activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation who was among thousands at a rally in a Chicago park.
The atmosphere was festive, with Native American dancers, mariachi bands and monarch butterfly signs, which have become a symbol of the immigrant rights movement.
While labor and immigrant rights are historically intertwined, the focus of May Day rallies in the U.S. shifted to immigration in 2006. That’s when roughly 1 million people, including nearly half a million in Chicago alone, took to the streets to protest federal legislation that would have made living in the U.S. without legal permission a felony.
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, traces back more than a century to a pivotal period in U.S. labor history.
In the 1880s, unions pushed for an eight-hour workday. A Chicago rally in May 1886 turned deadly when a bomb exploded and police responded with gunfire. Several labor activists — most of them immigrants — were convicted of conspiracy and other charges; four were executed.
Unions later designated May 1 to honor workers. A monument in Chicago’s Haymarket Square commemorates them with the inscription: “Dedicated to all workers of the world.”
Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
People hold hands at Union park for a May Day rally in Chicago, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Turkish, right, and Greek Cypriots gathering s they marking May Day inside the U.N. buffer zone at Ledra Palace hotel in the divided capital of Nicosia, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
People gather before a May Day rally in Chicago, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
An effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump burns during an International Workers' Day march marking May Day in Panama City, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Members of trade unions take part in a May Day rally in Tsakane, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Protesters march during the May Day demonstration in Rennes, western France, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo)
A man holds a picture or former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wearing a prison uniform during a May Day rally demanding greater labor rights in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Protesters march during the May Day demonstration in Paris, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
An union member is detained by a Turkish police officer as people try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stage a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stage a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Union members carefully step through rain-formed puddles to participate in a May Day rally in the rain Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
FILE - Activist and workers raise their clenched fists during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Laborers protest during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Laborers hold flares during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Members of trade unions take part in a rally a day ahead of the International Labor Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 30, 2026. The banner in center reading as 'red salute to the martyrs of Chicago and the struggle will continue until economic exploitation is ended' (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Members of trade unions take part in a rally a day ahead of the International Labor Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
