Pre-draft Shortly before the deadline, Crabtree declared himself eligible for the
2009 NFL draft, after discussions with his coach
Mike Leach, and with representatives of the NFL who advised that "he would be a first-round pick". At the press conference to announce his plans to enter the NFL Draft, Crabtree was accompanied by his Texas Tech Red Raider teammate
Brandon Williams, who made a similar announcement. Williams had led the
Big 12 Conference in
sacks. NFL Draft analyst
Mel Kiper Jr. had projected Crabtree to be selected by the
Seattle Seahawks as the fourth overall pick. On February 21, 2009, it was reported that Crabtree sustained a severe
Jones fracture in his left foot, which would require surgery to insert a screw and would leave him unable to perform for the next six to 10 weeks, including the
NFL Combine and Texas Tech's pro day. Doctors found that the injury had happened recently, and possibly during Crabtree's training for the combine. However, he stated that the stress fracture had been there for a year and did not cause him pain. On March 1, Crabtree stated he would have surgery and forgo the workout at Texas Tech's pro day on March 26. At the 2009 NFL Combine, Crabtree weighed ; his height was reported at . He later scored 15 on the
Wonderlic Test.
San Francisco 49ers Crabtree was selected in the first round (10th overall) by the
San Francisco 49ers in the 2009 NFL draft. He was the highest drafted Texas Tech Red Raider since halfback
Donny Anderson went seventh overall in the
1965 NFL draft. On July 28, 2009, Crabtree failed to report for training camp because he had no contract. Crabtree's training camp no show was the first for a rookie since 2005. Sources close to Crabtree indicated that he was prepared to sit out the 2009 season and re-enter the 2010 NFL Draft. Crabtree's agent, Eugene Parker, stated that he denied threatening the 49ers with having Crabtree sit out the season and reenter the draft. On August 30, Crabtree became the last holdout and unsigned draft pick from the 2009 NFL draft when
Andre Smith, the sixth overall pick, signed with the
Bengals. That day was also the 32nd day of Crabtree's holdout, The last first-round draft pick to hold out for an entire season was quarterback
Kelly Stouffer in 1987 when he refused to sign with the Cardinals.
2009 season On September 21, 2009, the 49ers filed charges against the
New York Jets for attempting to tamper with their negotiations with Crabtree. The 49ers may have believed the Jets contacted Crabtree's agent to let him know they'd be interested in trading for his rights, or in drafting him in 2010 with a better salary than the 49ers were offering. The 49ers had until November 17 to sign Crabtree or he wouldn't have been allowed to play in the 2009 season along with its being considered a non-accrued season for contract purposes. On October 7, 2009, ESPN reported that Crabtree and the 49ers had agreed to a six-year contract. ESPN's
Adam Schefter reported the deal would be worth $32 million, with $17 million guaranteed, $8 million more than offered by the team in August 2009, but also a year longer. The contract can void to five years based on Pro Bowl and playing time triggers. On October 25, Crabtree made his first career NFL start against the
Houston Texans, catching five passes for 56 yards and playing more snaps than any other 49ers receiver. On November 22, Crabtree caught his first touchdown on a 38-yard pass from quarterback
Alex Smith, beating veteran All-Pro cornerback
Al Harris on the play. He caught his second touchdown pass, and his first touchdown at
Candlestick Park, against the
Arizona Cardinals in a Week 14 divisional matchup. Crabtree led all rookie receivers in yards per game, with 56.8.
2010 season During the season opener against the
Seattle Seahawks, Crabtree caught two passes for 12 yards (a career low). It was the first time in his career that he did not record at least three receptions in a game. In the home opener on
Monday Night Football against the
New Orleans Saints he caught 1 pass (career low) for 32 yards. On October 10, 2010, Crabtree recorded his first career 100+-yard game, recording nine receptions for 105 yards and a seven-yard touchdown. He caught the go-ahead 32-yard touchdown against Oakland in Week 6. It was the first time Crabtree caught a touchdown in consecutive games. During Week 16 against the
St. Louis Rams, he recorded a career-high 60-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter of the 25–17 loss. Crabtree finished his second professional season with 55 receptions for 741 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games and 15 starts.
2011 season Crabtree suffered a broken foot during player-only off-season workouts in 2011. He underwent surgery and missed the entire preseason. In the first game of the regular season against the
Seahawks, he was still not fully recovered from his injury and sat out the second half of that game and the next game against the
Dallas Cowboys. Crabtree caught his first touchdown of the season during a Week 8 20–10 victory over the
Cleveland Browns. His second touchdown reception occurred in a home game against the
St. Louis Rams on a 52-yard pass from
Alex Smith. In the regular season finale in St. Louis, Crabtree recorded the first multi-touchdown game of his NFL career with two touchdown receptions, one of which came from kicker
David Akers on a fake field goal. Crabtree finished the season with a career-high in both receptions (72) and receiving yards (874). In the playoffs, Crabtree caught a five-yard touchdown pass in the
Divisional Round against the
New Orleans Saints to give the 49ers an early 14–0 lead. However, in that game and
NFC Championship Game against the
New York Giants, he totaled only five receptions for 28 yards.
2012 season In 2012, Crabtree posted his first season with greater than 1,000 receiving yards as he continued to develop as a player and grow into his role as the number-one target in the 49ers' passing game. Following
Colin Kaepernick's ascension to the starting quarterback position, Crabtree became a greater focal point of the offense, as Kaepernick's ability enabled more down-field passing. Crabtree began to put up better numbers with Kaepernick at the helm. Late in the season, Crabtree showed dominance with 107 yards and two touchdowns against the
New England Patriots and a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns against the
Arizona Cardinals. Crabtree finished with career highs in targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns. In the postseason, Crabtree had nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a 49ers victory over the
Green Bay Packers in the
Divisional Round, as well as six receptions for 57 yards in the
NFC Championship Game win over the
Atlanta Falcons. Crabtree had five receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in the
Super Bowl XLVII loss to the
Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.
2013 season On May 22, 2013, Crabtree underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The surgery required a minimum of six months to recover. On August 27, the 49ers placed Crabtree on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. He was most likely to return to the field in mid-November 2013. On November 25, 2013, rumors circulated online that he would be activated since November 26 would be the deadline for the team to activate him or face benching him for the rest of the season. On November 26, 2013, the 49ers activated him and waived a backup quarterback to make room for him on the 53-man roster. Crabtree played his first game of the season in Week 13 against the
St. Louis Rams, making two receptions for 68 yards in the 23–13 victory. Crabtree caught his first and only touchdown of the season against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the
Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Crabtree had eight receptions for 125 yards in the 23–20 victory over
Green Bay. On January 19, 2014, a pass to Crabtree from Kaepernick in the final seconds of the
NFC Championship Game against the Seahawks was
tipped by
Richard Sherman and intercepted by
Malcolm Smith as the 49ers lost 23–17.
2014 season During a Week 3 23–14 loss to the
Arizona Cardinals, Crabtree recorded a career-high 10 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Crabtree finished his 49ers career with 347 receptions for 4,327 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Oakland Raiders On April 13, 2015, after becoming a free agent, Crabtree signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the
Oakland Raiders. The contract also included $1.8 million in incentives.
2015 season Crabtree began the 2015 season recording 5 receptions for 46 yards in the season opener against the
Cincinnati Bengals. In the next game against the
Baltimore Ravens, Crabtree caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. During Week 9 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Crabtree had seven receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns. On December 9, 2015, Crabtree and the Raiders agreed to a four-year, $35 million extension. Crabtree finished the 2015 season with 85 receptions for 922 yards and nine touchdowns.
2016 season In the 2016 season, Crabtree had his second career 1,000-yard season and his first since 2012. In the season opener against the
New Orleans Saints, Crabtree scored the Raiders' go-ahead two-point conversion on a pass from
Derek Carr late in the fourth quarter of the narrow 35–34 victory. During Week 4 against the
Baltimore Ravens, Crabtree had seven receptions for 88 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in the narrow 28–27 road victory. Crabtree finished the 2016 season with a career-high 89 receptions for 1,003 yards and eight touchdowns. He had three games on the season with over 100 receiving yards.
2017 season During Week 2 against the
New York Jets, Crabtree had six receptions for 80 yards and a career-high tying three touchdowns in the 45–20 victory. During Week 7 against the
Kansas City Chiefs, Crabtree had three catches for 24 yards and the game-winning touchdown from Derek Carr as time expired. During a Week 12 21–14 victory against the
Denver Broncos, Crabtree got into a fight with cornerback
Aqib Talib, resulting in both players being ejected. The next day, both combatants were suspended for two games. However, the suspension was reduced to one game following a joint appeal. Crabtree finished the 2017 season with 58 receptions for 618 yards and six touchdowns. On March 15, 2018, Crabtree was released by the Raiders after spending three seasons with the team after the team signed
Jordy Nelson. Crabtree finished his Raiders career with 232 catches for 2,543 yards and 25 receiving touchdowns.
Baltimore Ravens On March 16, 2018, Crabtree signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the
Baltimore Ravens, with $11 million guaranteed. Crabtree was part of a receiving unit that included
Willie Snead IV and
John Brown. In his Ravens debut, Crabtree recorded three receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown in a 47–3 victory over the
Buffalo Bills. During Week 6 against the
Tennessee Titans, he had six receptions for 93 yards and his second touchdown of the season in the 21–0 shutout road victory. Crabtree finished the regular season with 54 receptions for 607 yards and three touchdowns. During the
Wild Card Round against the
Los Angeles Chargers, Crabtree had two receptions for 38 yards, both for touchdowns, as the Ravens lost 23–17. On February 25, 2019, Crabtree was released by the Ravens.
Arizona Cardinals On August 21, 2019, Crabtree signed a one-year contract with the
Arizona Cardinals. He was released on September 23. ==Career statistics==