After a long standoff, the Cincinnati Bengals signed star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson to a new contract this offseason. The deal gave the four-time Pro Bowler a significant raise in 2025, which was part of why he was holding out. However, Hendrickson is still slated to hit free agency in 2026 because the two sides couldn’t reach a long-term deal.
Now, the Bengals are 3-6 and all eyes are on Cincinnati’s front office to see if they trade Hendrickson before the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline. Teams are certainly calling about Hendrickson, and here are five squads that make sense as a landing spot for the $29 million star.
Dallas Cowboys
Despite trading Micah Parsons before the start of the 2025 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys have remained competitive. A lot of that comes down to their offensive performance, as their defense has predictably struggled since trading away their best player. However, acquiring Hendrickson could help them fix that missing piece they just lost.
At 30 years old with a contract extension on the horizon, Hendrickson would realistically be much cheaper to acquire in a trade than Parsons was for the Packers. The Cowboys aren’t lacking for draft capital, seeing as though they have two first-round picks in the next two drafts. The chance to acquire an elite pass rusher while still having multiple picks in Round 1 of both 2026 and 2027 could be too enticing for Dallas to pass up.
Buffalo Bills
To this point, the Buffalo Bills haven’t been able to get over the hump that is winning the AFC Championship. Of their last five seasons, four of them have ended in the Bills losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason. They’ve come so close so many times, but removing that albatross should be their prime directive.
As the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Chiefs in last year’s Super Bowl will tell you, though, there’s no such thing as too many pass rushers. Even if they don’t have the intention of extending Hendrickson, it could be smart to bring him in as a pass-rushing mercenary for the rest of the season to finally make it to the Super Bowl.
Detroit Lions
Going into the 2025 NFL season, there was concern that the Detroit Lions lacked a credible threat rushing off the edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson. After all, a lack of pass-rushing production once Hutchinson got hurt was part of the reason they got bounced from the postseason early last year.
They’ve found significant production out of journeyman veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad. That reliable tandem has helped keep Detroit near the top of the mountain, but if you added Hendrickson into the mix? It would be game over for opposing offensive lines. Rotating Muhammad in with Hutchinson and Hendrickson would keep them all fresh and make it extremely difficult for opponents to slow down their defensive line.
Chicago Bears
Although the Lions and Bills stand out more as “pass rush for hire” landing spots for Hendrickson, the Chicago Bears fit into a similar category to the Cowboys, where they could view him as a more long-term option for their defense. The Bears find themselves in a similar situation as in 2018, when they needed a star edge rusher to propel them to new heights and traded for Khalil Mack.
Hendrickson is older at this stage in his career than Mack was when Chicago traded for him, but he’s as reliable as they come off the edge. The Bears have Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo under contract, but neither has lived up to their price tag this season. With some creative cap, they could make an extension work and take their defense to the next level.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are in a similar boat to the Bears, in that they’ve experienced more success this year under a new head coach than they had in most of the last few seasons. Both teams have a young, talented quarterback on a rookie contract, and both teams could use one more piece on their defense to get them over the hump.
Harold Landry III has been a reliable presence off the edge for the Patriots this season, and Milton Williams is providing some juice along the interior. If you threw Hendrickson into the mix, their defensive line would be extremely tough to stop on passing downs. With over $53 million in projected cap space in 2026, they could afford a contract extension for him next offseason, too.