The Las Vegas Raiders say Baltimore have “backed out” of the trade that was supposed to send star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens for two first-round draft picks.

The deal was agreed last Friday but couldn’t be finalized until the start of the league year on Wednesday. The Raiders announced on Tuesday evening that Baltimore have backed out of the deal. “We will have no further comment at this time,” the Raiders said in their statement.

Crosby underwent surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and needed to pass a physical for the deal to be finalized. He missed the final two games of the season because of the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time. ESPN and NFL Network reported that the Ravens did not want to commit to Crosby given his knee issues.

Crosby said on a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that he was “ahead of schedule” in his rehab.

The addition of Crosby was supposed to be the piece to help the Ravens make a serious challenge for the Super Bowl while quarterback Lamar Jackson is still in his prime. The Raiders were expected to use the Ravens’ draft picks as part of a rebuild.

The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss last season, and has reached double-digit sacks four times in his seven seasons.

Baltimore, who have a first-year coach in Jesse Minter, are in a win-now mode with three-time All-Pro Jackson. Crosby would have been a significant boost for a defense that finished tied for 28th in the league in sacks with only 30 last season.

The Raiders own the No 1 pick in the draft and are widely expected to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Las Vegas have been extremely aggressive at the start of free agency, agreeing to deals with several new players and reportedly agreeing to trade quarterback Geno Smith to the New York Jets.

The biggest move the Raiders made was agreeing to a deal with three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum. He gets a three-year, $81m contract with $60m guaranteed to leave Baltimore and join Las Vegas. The Raiders now face tough decisions if they are now responsible for Crosby’s contract as well as the deals they agreed when they believed he was leaving the team.

For now, the blockbuster deal is dead. Whether it remains that way, the Raiders seek another trade partner, or it becomes a renegotiation once everyone is comfortable with the medicals, is the next question.