Trey Hendrickson finished last season with the most sacks in the NFL. He is one of the best pass rushers in the league, but plays for a team in the Cincinnati Bengals that is – how should I put this – unserious about winning. The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season. They are wasting Joe Burrow's prime years. Cincinnati has signed the likes of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins long term, so the Bengals can score points with the best of them. That ensures high attendance and, likely, a contending team. Yet, it does little to increase the Bengals Super Bowl odds, as they couldn't stop a weak stream at this point.
This is where Hendrickson comes in. Yes, the Bengals pass-rusher is on the wrong side of 30, and he wants to be signed to a long-term contract Cincinnati is right to have stipulations on. Yet, this is an ownership group and front office that has earned a reputation for being cheap. Hendrickson is a likely holdout despite being the most important player on the Bengals defense. Burrow himself has even called for the team to bring him back on his terms. That wasn't enough.
Trey Hendrickson's social media post points to a trade
Hendrickson posted on social media this week, breaking his silence about all things football. While the post was fairly basic on the surface – it included nothing more than a bible verse and some photographs of Hendrickson making big plays – there's a chance it had a deeper meaning.
1 Corinthians 16:13, as Hendrickson posted, reads 'Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.' That's good advice for the 30-year-old, who is about to enter a contract stand-off with the Bengals that could last weeks or even longer. The Bengals could trade Hendrickson, or allow him to seek out a contract elsewhere, if all hope is truly lost.
The Packers would be a great match for Trey Hendrickson
The Green Bay Packers received a nice hint from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer that Hendrickson's situation is more uncertain than previously thought.
"The Trey Hendrickson situation remains, I'd say, unpredictable," writes Breer. "Further complicating things is that (Ja'Marr) Chase got a deal that broke previous Bengals precedents on guarantees, but (Tee) Higgins's contract really didn't, and that Myles Garrett pushed the top of the market at Hendrickson's position to $40 million per year, while Danielle Hunter and Maxx Crosby got the market for third-contract types into the mid-30s this offseason. So there's a lot of ground to cover there, even if there wasn't the history that’s present with this one."
The Packers wouldn't be the only suitor for a player like Hendrickson, of course. There would be plenty, as there should be. However, Green Bay has been linked to the sack artist from the start, which means they've done their homework. Odds are the two sides would have to agree to a contract ahead of time, but the Packers and Hendrickson are a match if the Bengals do make him available.