We are already 13 days away from this year’s NFL Trade Deadline. With Joe Burrow‘s injury and the Cincinnati Bengals’ disappointing start, ESPN and the rest of the NFL media world are tripping over themselves to trade away the Bengals’ best players. For a franchise that rarely trades, predicting the team to ship off a star player at a deadline that is not nearly as exciting as MLB’s is a choice, but it will never stop the pundits. As a result, Trey Hendrickson, again, is the focal point.
Hendrickson is considered the top trade target in the NFL. It only makes sense: he’s incredibly productive, on an expiring deal, and the Bengals need to stockpile draft picks for the future. The team has many questions, but none is bigger than whether or not they will be buyers or sellers. Neither is likely, but let’s entertain the Hendrickson trade speculation.
ESPN Gives Bengals Slight Chance of Trading Star Defender
His impact on the field is undeniable. Since joining the Bengals, Hendrickson has racked up 61 sacks over 71 games. For reference, the rest of the Bengals have combined for 101. Hendrickson is responsible for 60% of the team’s sacks by himself…and that’s with two missed games and battling various injuries.
According to ESPN‘s Matt Bowen, “Hendrickson is a relentless defender off the edge with a deep toolbox of counters and a knack for making plays late in the down. Hendrickson has four sacks this season, and his 17.5 sacks and 65 pressures in 2024 were both league highs. He would be an immediate upgrade for just about anyone.”
In that time, the team has used five picks in the first three rounds to help him on the defensive line. None have panned out just yet, with one being a healthy scratch six out of seven weeks this year. Given, Shemar Stewart missed a large chunk of this year, he was supposed to be the one to take pressure off Hendrickson. The two have only played two games together this year, so if the Bengals hold onto Hendrickson, the expectations will be that both EDGEs can make an impact.
What They’re Saying
All in all, ESPN understands that asking the Bengals to actually trade away one of their best players is quite an ask. As defacto GM Duke Tobin put it when everyone was clamoring for the team to trade Tee Higgins, the Bengals, “are not in the business of making other teams better.” Trading away Hendrickson would unequivocably do that. Plus, the return would be draft picks. Do we trust the team to draft well enough to lessen the blow?
Regardless, ESPN gives the likelihood of a Hendrickson trade a 20% chance. Only two players have longer odds to be dealt, according to their list. Jeremy Fowler put it well, “Hendrickson would be far and away the most attractive trade target if Cincinnati entertains a deal. However, a team source told ESPN, as reported Oct. 14, that the Bengals have no plans to trade the former All-Pro. The interest will be there regardless, and San Francisco in particular considers Hendrickson an ideal fit. The Bengals’ record is 3-4 and the team is in the thick of the AFC North race, all the more reason to keep its best defensive player.”
The biggest issue will be that the Bengals tend to overvalue their own players, much like the Cincinnati Reds do. All offseason, it was reported that the Bengals’ asking price was steep. Have they moved off that price? Is there a team desperate enough to pay a first-round pick and/or an already-established player?
A 20% still feels a bit too optimistic. The Bengals rarely trade, despite what the last two seasons have shown. If we had to bet, Hendrickson will remain a Bengal as the team clings on the slightest bit of hope that Joe Flacco can steer the ship into playoff contention with the possibility of a Joe Burrow return as a Christmas present.
With matchups against the New York Jets and Chicago Bears on tap before the deadline, the outlook of the Bengals could be vastly different.
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