With 2026 NFL free agency on the very near horizon, speculation has already been well underway about where top pass rusher Trey Hendrickson will be playing football next season (and beyond).
Not that it will surprise anyone at all, but the latest report from Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic indicates that Hendrickson is as good as gone from Cincinnati this offseason. After back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks, Hendrickson was limited to just 7 games and 4 sacks this past season.
He'll be considered one of the most coveted defensive players in this year's free agency class, but where will he play? Will Hendrickson return to his Florida roots? Will he pursue a destination where he already has coaching connections? Or will he simply go play for the highest bidder?
Trey Hendrickson 2026 NFL free agency rumors heating up after latest report
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Hendrickson is a native of Orlando, Florida who played his college football at Florida Atlantic. After spending the initial four years of his NFL career in that region with the Saints, Hendrickson has spent the past five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
If he wants to return to his roots in the state of Florida, there should be a great opportunity to do exactly that with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs are a contender in the NFC South, and they have a desperate need for pass rush help. Todd Bowles might be in a make-or-break year as the head coach of that team, and someone like Hendrickson could help take his defense to the next level.
Especially with the Bucs in a window, I would expect them to be aggressive in bringing in players like Hendrickson to try and capitalize.
2. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are one of the top up-and-coming teams in the NFL right now, and just had a phenomenal season in the first year of the Ben Johnson era. Johnson had veteran NFL coach Dennis Allen coordinating his defense this past season, and they wound up leading the NFL in takeaways on that side of the ball.
As great as the Bears were at taking the ball away, they were susceptible on the defensive front over the course of the season, and they need to upgrade in the trenches both off the edge and on the interior. It just so happens that Dennis Allen was the defensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints when Hendrickson was drafted, and he remained in that role through Hendrickson's rookie contract with the Saints.
A reunion not only feels possible, but like the potential ideal fit for both parties.
3. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots should be expected to be extremely aggressive this offseason when it comes to adding to their pass rush.
This past season, the Patriots had the worst sack differential (sacks allowed offensively vs. sacks defensively) of any team in the league this season. Of course, getting a pass rusher like Trey Hendrickson can help them close that gap, if not even a little better than that.
Hendrickson also just feels like the perfect type of EDGE player for Mike Vrabel's defense. He's a big, physical player off the edge who brings the type of consistency Vrabel needs to be able to rely on.