The Cincinnati Bengals went through great pains to ensure that they alienated Trey Hendrickson over the last two offseasons, when they refused to pay him what he was worth.
All's well that ends well, because Hendrickson fleeing in free agency to the Baltimore Ravens gave the Bengals the financial means to acquire multiple other pieces on their defense. Most of the dough that would've gone to Hendrickson instead was spent on All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
But if Hendrickson's aim was to exact vengeance on the Bengals by joining a division rival, he might have a tough time doing that at least during the 2026 season after Thursday's schedule reveal.
Trey Hendrickson & Ravens have their work cut out in both matchups vs. Bengals due to bad scheduling breaks
Although Hendrickson's first chance to ball out versus Cincinnati comes in Week 7 at Baltimore, the Ravens will just be returning from a two-game road trip to Atlanta and Cleveland.
Doesn't sound like that big a deal. Both those contests are highly winnable. However, the Falcons will be giving Baltimore a heavy dose of superstar tailback Bijan Robinson, and Hendrickson is notoriously not a great run defender. The Browns aren't exactly a slouch either. The Dawg Pound is a hostile environment, and that defense gives Joe Burrow fits every single year.
Meanwhile, the Bengals will be coming off a Week 6 bye, and their fresh legs on defense will be getting after Lamar Jackson and Co. right after the Ravens do battle with the Browns' Myles Garrett-led defensive unit.
That's a pretty brutal turnaround for Baltimore, no?
Then we have Week 17's epic Thursday Night Football showcase that happens to fall on New Year's Eve. This is the first time in the last five years that Cincinnati will actually host the prime-time duel featuring these AFC North adversaries.
PS, guess who the Ravens play four days prior? None other than the Cleveland Browns.
So Lamar, behind an offensive line that no longer has historically-paid Tyler Linderbaum at center, will be on short rest after probably getting pummeled by Garrett for the second time on the season.
The Bengals have a far less demanding assignment against the Colts in Indianapolis, who have a very pedestrian roster across the board. Not to suggest any game in the NFL is a layup, but Cincinnati got the better end of the draw here, too.
Chances are, those knock-down, drag-out clashes with the Browns will take their toll on Baltimore. They'll be low-scoring, gritty affairs in which Hendrickson is on the field for prolonged periods of time, leaving him with less juice to make his desired impact on the Bengals. He wants to make them feel like they made a mistake for letting him go.
While Cincinnati's brass handled the relationship with Hendrickson terribly, the decision to, at long last, part ways was best for the team and player.
However, as much as I love me some Trey and all he did for the team, I do believe Hendrickson will see that what the Bengals gained at his expense will propel them to contender status, whereas the Ravens could low-key be in for a soft reboot here soon.
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