The Cincinnati Bengals missed the playoffs in the 2024 NFL season despite elite play from Joe Burrow mainly because their defense was atrocious. The Bengals allowed 25.5 points per game, tying them for the seventh-most in the NFL. Not a single team that allowed more points than them wound up sniffing the playoffs.
One of the few bright spots on the defensive end on the team was Trey Hendrickson, who has established himself as one of the NFL's premier edge rushers. The 30-year-old led the league with 17.5 sacks this past season, and has recorded 35 sacks over the last two seasons. He was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up behind Patrick Surtain II.
Given how mightily the defense struggled and how awesome Hendrickson was, you'd think he'd be a player that the Bengals would want to keep around in 2025 and beyond. Well, based on what ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Thursday, that is not the case.
The Bengals have taken the rare step of granting All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade. “It’s been an honor and privilege to represent Cincinnati over the last four years,” said Hendrickson, the NFL’s sack leader. “I love this city and organization. I appreciate… pic.twitter.com/7P7Hbe2Y9e
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2025
That's right - the Bengals are allowing Hendrickson to seek a trade. This doesn't mean a trade is a lock, but it certainly is trending that way. Yes, the Bengals do have to pay Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins while paying Burrow a substantial amount of money, but the decision to trade one of the best defensive players in the sport, especially when the defense was as lackluster as it was in 2024, is a tough one to get behind.
If the Bengals do wind up trading Hendrickson, certain landing spots (primarily teams in the NFC that Burrow would only have to see in the Super Bowl) would sit better for Burrow than others.
3) The Commanders can maintain their momentum by trading for Trey Hendrickson
Who had the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game ahead of the 2024 campaign. The Commanders defied the odds to get there, and now, they have to try and get themselves over the hump and win a Super Bowl.
Their offense is stout with Jayden Daniels under center, and they just added Deebo Samuel to a receiver room that already has Terry McLaurin. The Commanders could use a defensive lineman, especially with Jonathan Allen seeking a trade and with Dante Fowler Jr. hitting free agency. If they can't get Myles Garrett, Hendrickson would be the next-best option, and frankly a tremendous consolation prize.
Hendrickson might not be Garrett, but he'd be a pretty tremendous upgrade over Fowler at defensive end. They'd have to pay Hendrickson, but even after the Samuel trade, the Commanders have the fifth-most cap space in the NFL, according to Over The Cap, with over $64 million to spend. Giving a chunk of that to Hendrickson makes a whole lot of sense, and gets them closer, if not in the Super Bowl conversation.
2) Trading for Trey Hendrickson would establish the Packers as Super Bowl contenders
If the Green Bay Packers want to compete in what should once again be a brutal NFC North division, they're going to have to make at least one splash. The $46 million of cap space that they have, according to Over The Cap, gives them the financial flexibility to make that happen, now it's all on Brian Gutekunst to make that happen.
A Hendrickson trade won't come cheap, but it'd give them the game-changing defensive lineman they need. Rashan Gary is good, but he had 7.5 sacks in 2024. Hendrickson recorded more sacks than Gary than Gary recorded by himself. The Packers have not had a player record double-digit sacks since Za'Darius Smith back in 2020. Hendrickson has done that in four of his last five seasons.
This should be a no-brainer for Green Bay. Their offense should be potent with Jordan Love under center and Matt LaFleur's play-calling, but their defense needs to step up, particularly against the elite teams. Getting a game-changer like Hendrickson could be what puts Green Bay over the top.
1) The Lions should do whatever they can to form one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL by acquiring Trey Hendrickson
Had Aidan Hutchinson not suffered a season-ending injury after just five games, he might've won the Defensive Player of the Year award. I mean, through those five games he played he recorded 7.5 sacks, putting him at a higher pace than Hendrickson. Sure, small sample, but Hutchinson obviously has the talent to win a Defensive Player of the Year award.
Imagine pairing these two phenoms on the same defensive line - wouldn't that be something? What's scary is that it's entirely possible. The Detroit Lions have their first-round pick this season and next, and they also happen to have over $51 million of cap space.
The time for Detroit to go all-in is right now. They seemingly had the roster to win the Super Bowl last season, but fell remarkably short. Given how last season ended, it'd behoove the Lions to be ultra-aggressive and give themselves the best possible shot of winning it all. Hendrickson is a player worth going all in for.