Bengals upgrade pass rush with former Saints DE Trey Hendrickson

For all the concern with the Bengals losing defensive end Carl Lawson to the New York Jets when free-agent signings are made official on Wednesday, Cincinnati has upgraded adding one of the best edge rusher in free agency, Trey Hendrickson of the New Orleans Saints. Hendrickson had a breakout season in 2020.

As a team, the Bengals finished with 17.5 sacks in 2020. Hendrickson had 13.5 sacks in 2020 with the Saints. There has been a lot of concern from the Cincinnati fan base with Lawson signing a three-year $45 million contract in New York. Hendrickson will sign a four-year $60 million contract with the Bengals.

Only the first year of Henrickson’s contract is guaranteed according to Pro Football Talk. Cincinnati will guarantee Hendrickson a $10 million signing bonus and a $6 million roster bonus. Henrickson will also receive a $3.8 million salary in 2021 and a $200,000 per game roster bonus. The total first-year payout would be $20 million.

Hendrickson would have to play in every game to earn $20 million. If the Bengals chose to move on after the 2021 season, Hendrickson would have to be cut before the fifth day of the 2022 league year which will begin in March. Cincinnati is using caution after Hendrickson had a breakout season in 2020.

Lawson had 5.5 sacks, 36 tackles, four tackles for loss, 32 quarterback hits and created 10.5 of the Bengals sacks in 2020. Hendrickson tied for second in the NFL in sacks in 2020. According to NFL next-gen stats via ESPN, Hendrickson was sixth in the league with 53 pressures and 37 hurries.

Hendrickson accumulated those numbers despite playing in only 15 games and less than 60 percent of the defensive snaps. Lawson played a minimum of 61 percent of the snaps in the last 13 games of the season for Cincinnati in 2020. Lawson still has a high ceiling for his NFL career, Hendrickson is already proven.

The biggest concern with Hendrickson is that he had only 6.5 sacks during his first three seasons in New Orleans. The Saints lost starting DE Marcus Davenport to begin the 2020 season giving Hendrickson a chance to contribute. The question with Cincinnati is can Hendrickson continue to produce as a full-time player.