Bengals grant Trey Hendrickson permission to seek trade

Bengals grant Trey Hendrickson permission to seek trade

All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been granted the opportunity to explore a trade away from the Cincinnati Bengals, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter first reported Thursday.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to represent Cincinnati over the last four years,” he said, according to Schefter. “I love this city and organization. I appreciate the privilege of now being allowed to explore my options.”

The Bengals have taken the rare step of granting All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade. “It’s been an honor and privilege to represent Cincinnati over the last four years,” said Hendrickson, the NFL’s sack leader. “I love this city and organization. I appreciate… pic.twitter.com/7P7Hbe2Y9e

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2025

Hendrickson, a four-time Pro Bowler with Cincinnati, was one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the NFL last season. He led the league in sacks with 17.5, but graded out with the second-best pass rush win rate (according to ESPN) among EDGE rushers.

It marked his second straight season tallying 17.5 sacks and his fourth with at least 13.5, a remarkable feat. The Bengals’ defense was a sieve last year, but Hendrickson’s pass rush and ability to collapse the pocket was one of their few bright spots defensively.

Should he get traded, I am not sure how the Bengals plan to replace the 6-foot-4 EDGE rusher because he’s one of the best at what he does. Even more pressure will inevitably be placed on Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. We saw that was not a conducive formula for success, even though the Bengals’ offense was electric whenever it was in a shootout.

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Hendrickson finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Patrick Surtain II last year. He will be entering his age-31 season, but he’s proven to be one of the most durable pass rushers in the NFL. Any team that acquires him will be landing him at the tail-end of his prime–which could be valuable to a contender with an already-established pass rusher.

Which team should that be? Let us know in the comments!

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