The Cincinnati Bengals have shockingly granted Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade out of the Queen City. While Bengals fans had to know that the team realistically couldn't afford to keep Hendrickson, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, it's a disappointment that they're essentially letting their best defensive player leave when they need him the most.
Fans then start to think about what Hendrickson could command on the trade market though and that's exciting to ponder. He's one of the best pass-rushers in the league and has back-to-back 17.5 sack seasons, making him an attractive trade candidate for a team. He's also 30 years old and wants a new lucrative contract, which will certainly be factored in as well.
CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones recently shared what he personally thought the Bengals might be able to receive for Hendrickson.
"Probably a fair -- call it conservative estimate -- but probably a fair estimate is if the Bengals could get a high three (third-round pick), they would love a low two (second-round pick)," Jones said. "It's probably going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of a high three."
Bengals might not get as much as they'd like for Trey Hendrickson
Now it's worth noting that Jones is not stating what the Bengals will receive in a trade but what he believes they'll "settle for" if Hendrickson is indeed traded. That clarification needs to be known.
If this ends up being the case, however, then it's okay to be a bit disappointed while also taking into account that a high-third round pick is still quite valuable. I mentioned earlier how Hendrickson is 30 years old and he's wanting to get paid handsomely so not getting anything more than an early pick in the third round makes sense here.
That being said, the Bengals might opt not to trade Hendrickson if there's not a deal that works for them. Perhaps a team with pass-rushing problems will be willing to overpay more to bring him to their squad and if that's the case, that'd work out wonderfully for Cincinnati.