Maxx Crosby Admits to Spitting on Ex-Steelers OL

In 2021, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed guard Trai Turner, hoping he could be a pivotal solution to their offensive line. While he proved to be a guy who was steady enough, it was just a one-year experiment. But Turner got ejected when they welcomed the Raiders to Acrisure Stadium. After the game, Mike Tomlin defended Turner, who stated that Maxx Crosby spit on him while they were trash-talking.

“Somebody spit in his face,” Tomlin said. “So I understand the 15-yard penalties and so forth, gaining control of the game and stuff, I just — Trai is not a young guy. He’s not overly emotional. He’s a flat-liner. For him to respond the way that he responded, what transpired had to transpire. I was stating that case to them. I didn’t believe he did enough to be kicked out of the football game. That was just my opinion.”

Turner was not suspended for what transpired. On a radio row at the Super Bowl, Crosby revealed what led up to the incident, stating that Turner was trash-talking with him the entire game, and so he retaliated by spitting in his face after a short completion to Najee Harris.

“I spit on a Pittsburgh Steeler. It was a former O-Lineman, you know, he’s not in the league anymore. Talking, just chirping the whole game. He’s known for that. He was kind of past his prime at this point. But we’re getting into it, I’m talking my shit he’s talking his shit. They throw a little check down to Najee Harris, he’s running, already down the sideline. I turn around, and this dude is barking at me as I run to the ball, I feel a head-butt from behind, and it’s the dude that was chirping. I was ready to tee off, but the only thing I could have done in that moment was spit in his fucking face,” Crosby said on his podcast, The Rush.

On that play, Turner and Raiders defensive end Soloman Thomas received penalties while Crosby went off without receiving one. But Crosby made it clear that it ended up building up to that point, and he felt like he had to make a statement. Pittsburgh ended up losing the game 27-16.

“He fucking set off. He comes running after me, whatever. They literally had it in slow motion, they had him hawking a loogie across the field. He’s trying to fight me, run through all of his teammates, they kick him out of the game, and I’m like ‘I didn’t do shit’. Then I hear from another teammate that he is looking for me. I’m like, you’re the one that started the whole thing; if you wanted to do something, you should have looked me face to face and did it,” Crosby said.

Turner is recovering from a serious injury that he suffered with the Saints. Just a week after he signed with the Saints, he suffered a torn quadriceps. That injury ruined Turner’s homecoming as he’s a New Orleans native and LSU alum. Turner made five Pro Bowls during his time with the Carolina Panthers before one-year stints with the Los Angeles Chargers, Steelers and Washington Commanders over the last three seasons.