The All-Pro pass rusher was given permission to seek a trade earlier this year and is now reportedly back on the block.
Hendrickson is due $16 million in 2025, the final year of his contract with Cincinnati.
The inability of Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals to strike a new deal … may lead to an entirely different type of deal.
Hendrickson is due $16 million in 2025, his contract set to expire next March. However the financial market for top-tier defensive ends and outside linebackers has changed drastically, T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter and Maxx Crosby all signing extensions averaging at least $35 million annually over the past six months. Watt and Garrett are both at a $40 million-plus-per-year threshold, and Dallas Cowboys superstar Micah Parsons is expected to exceed that at some point in the near future.
Hendrickson, 30, hasn’t expressed a desire to reset his positional compensation scale but does want long-term security and a raise commensurate with his performance – Bengals owner Mike Brown even admitting last month that the four-time Pro Bowler has earned one.
Hendrickson led the NFL with 17½ sacks last season, and the 35 he’s racked up since 2023 also pace the league over that period. According to Pro Football Reference, his 54 pressures were seven more than any other player in 2024 – that production occurring for a decidedly subpar Bengals defense that ranked 25th overall last season, when Cincinnati came up one win short of the playoffs.
After a brief holdout to start training camp, Hendrickson reported July 30 but has been holding in as his standoff with the team continues.
‘I can’t do any more at this time to rush the passer on Sundays,’ he said last month. ‘The hay is in the barn. It’s just whether we agree or not.
‘Moving forward, we’ll see what transpires.’
And maybe that’s a trade. Hendrickson was given permission to pursue one last March – which happens to be when Bengals wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins got massive extensions – but nothing materialized before the draft. Notably, per Over The Cap, the team has more than $80 million in projected cap space between this year and next, which would seemingly be more than enough to find some middle ground with Hendrickson.
Moving forward, it remains to be seen if Cincinnati blinks at the negotiating table with its lone defensive star or potentially lower its asking price on the trade market, especially since most teams in the league have much less flexibility in August than springtime to consummate what is effectively a trade-and-sign, which would presumably require both draft compensation ahead of actual compensation for Hendrickson.
But let’s play along anyway as this saga continues to unfold. Here are seven potential teams to monitor that might have the need and wherewithal to make a move for Hendrickson:
Detroit Lions
The NFC’s failed No. 1 playoff seed last season, the Lions were undermined by a defense that was crippled by the loss of DE Aidan Hutchinson in Week 6 and never recovered. Pairing Hendrickson and Hutchinson would instantly give Detroit the league’s best couplet of quarterback hunters – the similarity of their last names would surely launch a nickname and marketing campaign, too – and at a time when the team could use a boost given the murderers’ row the NFC North currently is and as this organization tries to recover from the loss of coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs elsewhere. But is pursuing Hendrickson truly realistic? He might just be the player who could finally get this club over the Lombardi hump. However GM Brad Holmes’ 2026 budget is already underwater, and his most pressing roster issue for the immediate future should be extending Hutchinson, whose rookie contract balloons to fifth-year option paychecks 13 months from now.
Houston Texans
Do they need a player like Hendrickson? He’d surely be a luxury given the presence of Hunter and fellow DE Will Anderson, who combined for 23 sacks in 2024. But no one else on this roster had more than five last season and deepening the rotation – both Hunter and Hendrickson are 30 – is an option any defensive coordinator wants, not to mention the ability to have such a talented trio on the field during obvious passing downs. The Texans would have to move some money around in all likelihood to make it work, but GM Nick Caserio has been especially aggressive over the past 18 months in a bid to optimize his roster while QB C.J. Stroud remains on his rookie contract. Caserio also owns an extra second- and fourth-round pick in next year’s draft, giving him extra wiggle room to consummate a deal with Cincinnati that few other teams have.
Indianapolis Colts
They ranked near the bottom of the NFL with 36 sacks last season (among many other major defensive deficiencies) and hired a new coordinator, Lou Anarumo, this offseason – and he just happens to be the same guy under whom Hendrickson flourished over the past four years in Cincy. Indy has ample financial bandwidth to make an offer that would approximate what Crosby and Hunter are making. The Colts also have several young edge players – notably Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu – who might greatly benefit from watching a master craftsman like Hendrickson. And while he doesn’t play quarterback, perhaps supercharging the defense is an appropriate way to ease some pressure on whomever the Colts tab to be their QB1 in 2025.
Los Angeles Chargers
They have $116 million in projected cap room between this year and next, most in the league. Khalil Mack, 34, is the Bolts’ best pass rusher, and the team hopes Tuli Tuipulotu can fill the void after Joey Bosa became a cap casualty in March. Hendrickson would certainly add what’s probably a needed shot of adrenaline to this defense – especially if the Chargers hope to compete for a divisional throne that’s long been the property of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Philadelphia Eagles
Never discount EVP/GM Howie Roseman, who’s built three Super Bowl rosters over the past eight seasons – two of them earning rings – and may have another on his hands with or without Hendrickson. Roseman was rumored as a suitor for Garrett when the Browns superstar requested a trade earlier this year before taking a pile of money to remain in Cleveland. While Philly doesn’t seem to be in desperate need of another defensive weapon, it did lose Josh Sweat and Milton Williams to free agency and Brandon Graham to retirement during the offseason. Youngsters Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt are projected to start on the edge, and both have flashed the promise that led Roseman to draft them. But neither has the production or experience of Hendrickson, who’d probably be a more realistic potential target here anyway than Garrett ever was.
Seattle Seahawks
The NFC West is shaping up to perhaps be the most tightly packed division in the league, so a major acquisition would figure to make a difference for any of its members. The Seahawks are projected to have nearly $90 million in cap space (counting 2026) and haven’t been shy about overhauling their roster despite a 10-7 finish in 2024 that fell a tiebreaker short of postseason qualification. Yet the ‘Hawks are also hoping to apply pressure with players like DeMarcus Lawrence, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall – a group pockmarked with injury and inconsistency concerns that have never been an issue for Hendrickson over the past five seasons. And if anyone knows what he brings to the table, it’s HC Mike Macdonald, who saw Hendrickson wreck shop frequently while serving as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Hendrickson would have to adapt to a base 3-4 scheme but standing up isn’t a huge ask of a veteran. Meanwhile, GM Jason Licht would have to deviate from the draft, develop and extend philosophy that’s worked so well for this organization. But the perennial NFC South champs could certainly use more production off the edge as they try to hold off would-be challengers like the Falcons and Panthers, and Licht has the funds to fit Hendrickson under the cap – even after taking a $14 million flier on soon-to-be 31-year-old Haason Reddick for the upcoming campaign. Tampa would also represent something of a homecoming for Hendrickson, who hails from nearby Apopka, Florida.