The Cincinnati Bengals' front office succeeds exceedingly well at one thing. They go out of their way to alienate their best players as much as possible.
Elite defensive end Trey Hendrickson is the perfect case study for this phenomenon. Hendrickson is a dynamic force multiplier (to borrow terminology from the latest Super Bowl champs) who single-handedly carried Cincinnati's anemic pass rush for years.
Now, the best free-agent signing in Bengals history, after multiple offseasons of being low-balled and disrespected, may get hit with the franchise tag.
Are Duke Tobin and his minions savvy enough to tag Hendrickson and trade him?
What may sound simple and straightforward for most competent NFL organizations is never so in Cincinnati. Provided the Bengals can pull of a trade, though, there's one glaringly obvious landing spot for Hendrickson.
Tennessee Titans give the Bengals the best chance at maximizing return on Trey Hendrickson trade
CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported that the Indianapolis Colts hired former Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby from Arkansas. It's a reunion with Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator who helped the Bengals reach Super Bowl LVI and the AFC Championship Game the next year.
But the Anarumo-Hobby tandem shouldn't be enough to get Hendrickson to come to Indy. Nor should Cincinnati engage with the Colts about a prospective trade.
Another AFC South team is a far better fit.
New Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh loves his four-man defensive fronts. Tennessee is stacked at defensive tackle with the likes of T'Vondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons. The edge group needs a lot of work.
Not only would Hendrickson be a huge asset for Saleh to deploy, but the Titans have the most salary cap space in the NFL. They also hold the No. 4 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, so any compensation in that vein — likely the 66th or 101st overall pick — would best what Indy could give up.
Also, why do Anarumo's team a favor? The Colts are a smooth Daniel Jones rehab away from being a real threat in the AFC, whereas the Titans are at least a year away from being a year away to threaten for the playoffs. Or so it would appear.
The other obvious piece to this: You won't find a better, more disruptive defensive tackle who could be had in a trade than Jeffery Simmons. Using the Hendrickson trade chip as leverage to possibly score Simmons would be such an epic win for Cincinnati.
I imagine Saleh would be reluctant to part with such a valuable piece in Simmons. However, what if the Bengals threw in a 2027 first-round pick? The next draft class is expected to be absolutely stacked with high-end talent.
Given what I just said in that last sentence and Cincinnati's recent draft woes, why would I suggest they do such a thing? Because the 2026 season is all or nothing. The Bengals either step up and get back into legitimate Super Bowl contention, or Zac Taylor is on the chopping block, and Joe Burrow is angling for a trade next offseason.
There is no "tomorrow" for the 2026 Cincinnati Bengals. That's why they need to move off Hendrickson ASAP to nix that dragged-out soap opera, and make aggressive moves for players like Simmons to finally get serious about bolstering their defense.