Watch: Raiders DE Maxx Crosby gets emotional on journey from rehab to Pro Bowl

For a few years now the Raiders have been talking about the character they have on this team. While that may not hold true across the board, there are certainly a few players who embody the kind of character they want. The kind of people who have stories of retribution.

One of those players is Maxx Crosby, who has on occasion spoken openly about his struggles with alcohol and his road to sobriety. Today that road led him to his first Pro Bowl. The third-year former fourth round pick found out just before the Raiders took the field Monday.

“I really didn’t believe it,” Crosby said. “I had to take a moment, “I broke down. I just put in so much work. And for having my teammates, my peers, coaches around the league, it’s a dream come true. It’s awesome. . . something like that, you think about that as a kid. I have five sacks. I just want to show people out there that it’s not all about sacks because I’ve had double digits. I’ve done things like that, but it’s your impact. And no matter what it is; if it’s your impact in the locker room, it’s your impact on the field, affecting the game, no matter what stats I get. I believe I do that ever single Sunday and that’s what I try to do and yeah it was super special for sure.”

Crosby managed to hold it together for his first response about his being named to the Pro Bowl. But when he started to talk about how far he has come to get here, he got choked up.

We can sometimes forget how important things like Pro Bowls are for these guys. Even if the game is meaningless, it’s a huge thing to have a Pro Bowl on a resume. And there are only a select few who ever reach that level in their careers. Congrats to Crosby who deserves to be a Pro Bowl player.