Trey

Hendrickson

The offseason Hendrickson saga continues to surge on through the first two days of legal tampering, with one of the top free agents on the market yet to sign - we now know why. Russini reports that he has offers on the table and will make a formal decision on Wednesday. It is not uncommon for teams to require a bit of salary cap magic prior to signing a player of Hendrickson’s magnitude, something that appears to be in the works behind the scenes as multiple franchises lobby for his services. Stay tuned.

Hendrickson’s asking price is reportedly somewhere in the $30 to $40 million range after Danielle Hunter and Jaelan Phillips both signed deals with AAVs over $30 million. It was reported earlier that, as things stand, Hendrickson will likely be “too expensive” for the Cowboys to bring in. Interestingly, the Bills who are roughly $14 million over the cap right now per OverTheCap.com could be interested in Hendrickson if they can find a way to get a deal done, but they would have to go through some steps to clear some cap space and get a deal done. Hendrickson totaled four sacks in seven games and will be 31 at the start of next season. Even if the Bills are interested in Hendrickson, they will likely wait for his asking price to come down given their current situation.

It comes on the heels of a report from Adam Schefter that teams haven’t met Hendrickson’s asking price so far — it feels like the league as a whole has gotten together to tell Hendrickson that he’s not a top-dollar player at age-32 and coming off missing most of the year to a core injury. We’ll see how that settles, it’s still early in free agency, but it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Hendrickson lingered.

Schefter reports that Hendrickson has spoken to multiple teams, but says that the deals recently signed by Danielle Hunter and Jaelan Phillips may have complicated things. Hunter received a one-year $40.1 million extension from the Texans last week, and Phillips agreed to a four-year deal with the Panthers that averages out to $30 million a year. Hendrickson, 31, reportedly considers himself as good as if not better than both Hunter and Phillips, meaning he could be seeking a deal in the range of what they received. Hendrickson totaled 35 sacks from 2023 to 2024, but he recorded just four sacks in 2025 while being limited to seven games due to injury. Hendrickson is still a premier pass-rusher who will see a good pay day when signed, but it could take some time before a deal is negotiated if he is unwilling to budge from his current demands.

The Cowboys lost out on the Maxx Crosby trade sweepstakes and will have to pivot — they reportedly had some interest in Hendrickson at the deadline. Oweh probably makes more sense as a younger upside swing, and this is the third of four NFC East teams in on Jaelan Phillips that we’ve heard about.

Schefter also said the Bears currently have “no ties” to Trey Hendrickson, and he believes they could pursue C Tyler Biadasz or C Lloyd Cushenberry to handle other needs. The Bears have been linked to Crosby in other reports, so this is interesting. Earlier today, Trey Wingo reported that the Cowboys are expected to pursue Hendrickson after other teams entered trade talks with the Raiders last night by reportedly putting two first-round picks on the table.

The Cowboys were reportedly close to acquiring Raiders EDGE Maxx Crosby via trade last night, but other teams entered the bidding process at the last second. Per Wingo, offers for the Raiders’ pass rusher are “potentially” up to two first-round picks at this point. That price is apparently too high for the Cowboys. Hendrickson could be a fine consolation prize.

The Bengals announced on Tuesday that they would not use the franchise tag on Hendrickson, who has wanted out of Cincinnati for years. Schefter said Hendrickson, who lives in Florida, would like to play in Florida for tax purposes. “Tampa would be a great fit. I think in a perfect world, Trey would like to stay in Florida,” Schefter said. “No state income tax. But, he’s also open to going to the best possible situation.” Hendrickson, 31, had 35 total sacks from 2023 to 2024 before playing in only seven games in 2025. He would be an instant upgrade for an inconsistent Tampa pass rush. The Bucs had the NFL’s seventh lowest sack rate in 2025.

Entering his age-32 season off an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, Hendrickson figures to be one of the top free agents on the board on the strength of his 2024 season where he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and led the league with 17.5 sacks. He’ll likely have a shorter deal ala Danielle Hunter, but should be a real threat to make over $20MM a season. It signals the end of a contentious process where the Bengals and Hendrickson could not agree on his value for multiple offseasons, as both sides finally get a fresh start.

The Bengals and Hendrickson have been in contentious contract talks for a while with all options still on the table, according to director of player personnel and de facto general manager Duke Tobin. The franchise tag is still a possibility and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway reported last week the Bengals will get a feel for the 31-year-old’s market at this week’s NFL Combine. The tag would guarantee $30.2 million to Hendrickson in 2026, making it difficult to afford for the Bengals. However, the team still won’t publicly deny the franchise tag as an option, likely in an effort to generate value in possible trade scenarios.