Raiders report: Maxx Crosby nominated for league’s most prestigious award

Maxx Crosby’s extensive work in the community has once again made him the Raiders nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, announced Thursday.

The Maxx Crosby Foundation has done substansial work on youth hunger and poverty through its partnership with Hope for the City as well as helping roll out The Hope Bus, a mobile outreach to help deliver food, clothing and school supplies to underserved schools in addition to all the work he has done for dogs over the years.

And that’s just scratching the surface of his many charitable endeavors.

But the Pro Bowl defensive end believes there is more he can do to make a difference.

“They all are special in their own way,” he said of his many endeavors. “But the substance abuse part of it is one that this next calendar year we’re going to dive in more and more and give back even more. Obviously, that’s directly personal to me going on six years sober. I wouldn’t be in this position if I hadn’t.

“But that’s something we want to continue building. A lot of teens and kids are going through tough situations and we want to find ways to get them help in any way we can.”

This is Crosby’s third nomination for the award, considered the league’s most prestigious, which will be presented during NFL Honors on Feb. 5.

He credited his wife Rachel, as well as Burt Trembly from the Maxx Crosby Foundation, for helping organize many of the community projects.

“It’s a blessing and an honor for sure,” Crosby said. “A lot of work put into it and a lot of people around me that made it possible, starting with my foundation and Burt plays a big part there.

My wife Rachel is a huge piece of that too, putting everything together and bringing the vision to life to help as many people as we can. It’s off to a great start and being nominated by the team is a huge honor.”

The 28-year-old Crosby said he thought since he was young about how he wanted to be successful because he always wanted to have the means to give back to his community.

There have been many people both in and out of the game who have provided both opportunities and advice to him along the way.

Some of the most memorable came from former Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.

“He always had one-liners and quotes, but one that stuck with me the most was, ‘When you give with no intention to receive, it’s always going to come back on you two-fold,’” he said. “I live my life by that and truly believe in that.”

It’s part of why he’s so eager to expand his work in substance abuse treatment and prevention.

Crosby believes his own journey will help him reach even more people.

“It’s one of the most difficult things because a lot of people are scared to have that conversation,” Crosby said. “I know I was. I’m a prime example. I didn’t want to admit I had a problem or admit I was out of control. But the first step is admitting it and that comes from within.

“It was the best thing for me. We’ve already started putting in motion grants and scholarship programs for kids to get in rehabs and sober livings and things like that, but there’s more to do. Honestly, it’s just having that dialog and giving people a safe space to talk about their problems.”

Injury report

Crosby did not participate in Thursday’s outdoor practice at the team facility because of a knee injury after he was limited Wednesday.

Linebacker Jamal Adams also missed practice with a knee injury after he was a full participant Wednesday.

Quarterback Geno Smith was upgraded from limited to full participation while guard Dylan Parham returned to full participation after missing Wednesday’s practice.

Wide receivers Alex Bachman (thumb) and Dont’e Thornton (concussion), along with tight end Michael Mayer (ankle), remained out

Back in action

Guard Atonio Mafi was happy to answer the call when he was activated for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.

The former fifth-round pick of the Patriots played in all 17 games and made five starts for New England as a rookie, but appeared in three games with the Colts last year and had spent much of this year on the practice squad for the Raiders before he was signed to the active roster two weeks ago.

“Obviously the coaches trusted me enough to put me out there and get some reps,” he said of his Raiders debut. “So that felt good.

“I try to help in any way I can, whether it’s during scout or playing in the game like last Sunday when my number was called. That’s what I’m trying to do. But it was a great experience because it’s been awhile since I’ve had live reps out there.”

Mafi was somewhat surprised when the tape showed his pass protection may have been ahead of his run blocking.

“There’s definitely a lot to work on,” he said. “I felt better in my pass game which is funny because usually that’s where I’ve struggled. I felt good there, but a lot to clean up in the run game.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.