Raiders DE Maxx Crosby recalls Nelson Agholor locker room tirade ‘He was definitely calling some people out’
For the past few days, there has been buzz around Raider Nation about the reported blowup by Raiders wide receiver Nelson Agholor following the team’s late loss to the Dolphins that dropped them to 7-8 on the season and knocked them out of playoff contention.
According to the report, Agholor called out his teammates for being selfish and not working hard enough, had quit in several games, and there was no accountability.
As of yet there hadn’t been any Raiders players go on record to confirm it. Maxx Crosby became that player Friday when he spoke on the record about it.
“It was in the heat of the moment,” Crosby told The Athletic. “Nelly didn’t say ‘these guys suck,’ it was more of a ‘we’ thing and him being a leader and showing his passion for the game. He’s been on a Super Bowl team and he knows what it looks like to have a winning environment in a locker room, and guys that truly love the game. Guys that show up every day and practice that way.
“He was definitely calling some people out a little bit. I was happy he said something. Because that game, too, he had put his all on the line and put us in a position to win that game. I felt it. Football is such an emotional game and losing the way we did, every single person in Raider Nation was sick. It was a cool moment to see because Nelly doesn’t talk a ton, but when he does everybody listens.”
Agholor signed a one-year deal with the Raiders and quickly showed himself to be the best wide receiver on the Raiders roster.
That Dolphins game in particular was his biggest of the season. He caught five passes for 155 yards in the game, including an 85-yard touchdown to put the Raiders up 22-16 with 3:37 left. Only to watch as kicker Daniel Carlson missed the extra point and the Dolphins would end up converting on a 34-yard pass in the final seconds to hit 44-yard field goal and escape with a 26-25 win.
That loss completed a collapse that saw a 6-3 Raiders team lose five of six games, ensuring there were be no postseason for them. Collapses like that don’t just happen. Especially considering it was the second season in a row the Raiders had fizzled late in the season.
Clearly that wasn’t something Agholor was used to experiencing and he wasn’t willing to remain silent. And no doubt the reason Crosby liked what Agholor had to say was because Crosby was secure in knowing he was playing his heart out, as evidenced by the fact that he played through a torn labrum and a painful metal plate in his hand most of the season.
