Teams have been very active making cuts or allowing some of their key players to seek a trade. Cincinatti Bengals’ pass rusher Trey Hendrickson has been added to that list. It was reported on Thursday that the defensive end is allowed to seek a trade as he also looks for a new contract. Could the Eagles somehow swing yet another big contract?
It’s quite surprising the Bengals are allowing one of their top defensive players to look elsewhere to play in 2025, although Hendrickson was looking to be moved before the start of the season. The 30-year-old put that behind him and paced the league with his 17.5 sacks and has been one of the league’s top pass rushers over the last two seasons.
On top of leading the NFL in sacks, he also led the NFL in sack percentage, while third in pressure percentage and pass rush win rate. Over the last two seasons, he’s racked up 35 sacks and five forced fumbles. He is a true menace. He’s also been a workhorse, not missing a game in each of the last two seasons.
The biggest hurdle for the Eagles would be the payday Hendrickson is looking for with the trade. The Raiders just made their top pass rusher Maxx Crosby the highest paid non-quarterback in league history with a three-year, $106.5 million contract extension with $91.5 million guaranteed. Hendrickson has put up better numbers than Crosby over the last two years and is owed more than $18 million this year. It would be reasonable to think the Florida Atlantic University product will look to surpass that total.
With Howie Roseman backing up the money trucks for Saquon Barkley and Zack Baun over the last week, it would be hard to figure out a path, even with Roseman’s wizard-like salary cap and contract maneuvering abilities, that the Eagles would have to be a favorite to land the talented pass rusher. The Eagles did make moves to create a little more wiggle room with the cuts of James Bradberry and Darius Slay and currently sit a little over $21 million in salary cap space according to Over The Cap. However, you can’t count them out fully.
The thought of a trio of Jalen Carter, Zack Baun and Hendrickson on top of young guns in Nolan Smith Jr., Jaylx Hunt and Nakobe Dean when he returns from his injury is certainly exciting. It would make what was the top defense the NFL in the league Avenger-esque in 2025 as they defend their Super Bowl title. While Howie Roseman may have asked for patience from Eagles fans, it’s possible that Philly may end up having a stellar offseason.
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
