One of the things Maxx Crosby has become known for in recent years is never leaving the field. He is a complete player who doesn't seem to wear down as the game goes along, so his coaches have tended to leave him on the field.
That changed for Sunday's opener with Crosby seeing 82% of the team's defensive snaps, which means he was on the sideline for ten snaps.
In the past, that would be injury related. Specifically that he suffered an injury in the game, causing him to miss snaps or leave and not return.
So, when a star like Crosby sees what would be his lowest snap percentage in a healthy start for Crosby since 2022, naturally that would bring about questions. So, head coach Klint Kubiak needed to make it cleat that there was no concern in that regard.
"That was planned going into the game," Kubiak said of Maxx's snap count.
The decision isn't completely removed from injury concerns. It's likely more about the fact that this was Crosby's first game back since he was held out of the final two games of last season with a knee injury that required surgery that kept him off the practice field throughout the offseason.
Crosby also saw only a handful of snaps in the preseason, so giving him a few snaps off may have been to not risk anything.
It also speaks to the depth the Raiders have at the defensive end position right now. With Quity Paye on the other side and backups Malcolm Koonce and Patrick Johnson showing up well this preseason, it makes sense to rotate them in as well.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders DE Maxx Crosby was on planned snap count vs Dolphins
