Those of us who love the Cincinnati Bengals can complain all we want about the gross miscarriage of football justice that is Trey Hendrickson not being rewarded with a contract extension.
After requesting a trade last offseason, when Cincinnati didn't offer him an extension despite his 17.5 sacks in 2023, Hendrickson played ball whilst being grossly underpaid. To his credit, all Hendrickson did was lead the NFL with 17.5 sacks — the second straight year he'd reached that total.
Alas, it's evidently not enough to move the Bengals front office to do the sensible thing and retain their best defensive player. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero just reported that the team is listening to trade offers, and that Hendrickson is "available for the right price."
This is a genuinely dreadful exercise to put myself through, so bear with me. The reality is, the Bengals don't respect Hendrickson enough. It's now a very real possibility he's traded before Week 1. Let's look at three of the most logical destinations, and what Cincinnati could get in return.
Fox Sports insider Jordan Schultz reports that the Browns, Colts, and Panthers have already emerged as interested suitors, so to freshen this thing up a bit, let's focus on a few alternative trade partners.
Trey Hendrickson returns to New Orleans to spark Saints' rebuild
- Saints receive: DE Trey Hendrickson
- Bengals receive: S Jordan Howden, 2026 2nd-round pick
If we know anything about the New Orleans Saints, it's that they are magicians at getting themselves out of the deep red when it comes to the salary cap. I've worn out their OverTheCap.com page. It feels like they have just enough void deals to stretch and huge contract restructures to execute to pull off a Trey Hendrickson trade.
Hendrickson strikes me as a loyal guy. It's not like he wants to even leave Cincinnati. What better place for him to go than the team where his NFL career began? The Saints would strain to accommodate Hendrickson's payday in 2026, but their cap opens way up the following year.
While expectations in New Orleans this year are low, Hendrickson could help turn the culture around. As long as the Saints hang onto their first-rounder in 2026, aided by shipping a starting-caliber safety in Jordan Howden to the Bengals, they'll be in position to draft a quarterback if Spencer Rattler or Tyler Shough don't show enough promise.
Trey Hendrickson cements Packers as top NFC contender
- Packers receive: DE Trey Hendrickson, 2026 4th-round pick
- Bengals receive: DE Brenton Cox Jr., OL Jordan Morgan, 2026 2nd-round pick
The NFC North division is a gauntlet in and of itself, so what better way for Green Bay to stand out than to make an admittedly uncharacteristic blockbuster trade? Hendrickson and Rashan Gary would be quite the dynamic pass-rushing duo off the edge for the Cheeseheads.
Not every trade package is going to be ideal, but if Cincinnati is serious about moving on from Hendrickson, the returns could be far worse than this Packers scenario. Brenton Cox Jr. has some off-field issues in his past. The talent is not a question at all, though, as he registered 17 pressures and four sacks on only 97 pass-rushing snaps last season, per PFF.
As for Jordan Morgan, he was a first-round pick in 2024, yet the Packers used a second-rounder on offensive tackle Anthony Belton in their latest draft. Morgan played both guard spots as a rookie, and is behind Rasheed Walker as the second-string left tackle.
Not that Green Bay is giving up on Morgan already. However, it'd make some sense for the Pack to hang onto Belton as their swing tackle and sweeten their Hendrickson trade offer with Morgan in the mix. Morgan could be the eventual successor to Orlando Brown Jr., and help now at right guard.
Bengals fill two needs in Trey Hendrickson trade with Patriots
- Patriots receive: DE Trey Hendrickson
- Bengals receive: OL Cole Strange, S Kyle Dugger, 2026 3rd-round pick
I just wrote about why uber-athletic Patriots offensive lineman Cole Strange is an attractive trade candidate. Speaking of solving the Bengals' right guard problem, Strange couldn't be much worse than the likes of Lucas Patrick or Cody Ford.
Although he does have a major medical red flag after recovering from a torn patellar tendon, New England's former first-rounder is still well worth a flier. The Pats have demoted him out of the starting lineup anyway, so what's the use of him riding the pine in Foxborough?
Then we have Kyle Dugger, the type of dynamic, versatile safety who could give new Cincinnati defensive coordinator Al Golden all kinds of exotic new elements to add to his scheme. The recent injury to Geno Stone exposed just how thin the Bengals are at the safety spot.
New England's spending sprees in free agency of late make a Hendrickson acquisition and extension more difficult than I would've realized at first thought. Nevertheless, the Patriots should be able to make it work, and for a premier QB chaser like Hendrickson, the cost would be well worth it.