The NFL regular season is just a few weeks away, and it's time for teams to make last-minute trades and upgrades to their rosters before embarking on a quest for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara next February.
As it turns out, a pretty big fish might be available as the Cincinnati Bengals and star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson have reached an impasse in contract negotiations, and now seem likely to trade him before the start of the season. With an asking price of at least a first-round pick, teams should be lining up to add Hendrickson to their roster.
Even though the Bengals couldn't reach the playoffs with Hendrickson last year, he could very well be the missing piece for a number of other teams around the league in their quest to make it back to the postseason, or get there for the first time in a long time. Which teams need to get on the phone and make a deal the most?
3 NFL teams that desperately need Trey Hendrickson on their defense in 2025
1. New England Patriots
There is no question that the New England Patriots have been aggressive this offseason in upgrading their roster in the trenches on both sides of the ball. On the offensive line, the Pats used their top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on LSU lineman Will Campbell, pairing him up with veteran Morgan Moses as bookend tackles for this coming season.
Defensively, the Patriots already won the bidding war for former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams, one of the biggest free agent signings for any team this offseason. They also reunited head coach Mike Vrabel with pass rusher Harold Landry. Adding Trey Hendrickson off the edge would vault a team that already believes it can compete this year with a Drake Maye breakout into another realm overall.
For Patriots GM Eliot Wolfe, this is a no-brainer type of situation and something he should seriously consider even with the price tag of a 2026 1st-round pick.
2. Washington Commanders
I'm not trying to say the Washington Commanders don't have a good shot at making the playoffs in 2025, but their pass rush group is not very good and could hold them back. I've said that about a million times this offseason, so I'm preparing to be called out if Dan Quinn's group doesn't change and ends up being productive in the pass rush department yet again this year.
But I don't think any Commanders fan out there would disagree about the idea of possibly adding Hendrickson to the roster right now. The Commanders are planning on picking late in the 1st round anyway, and with the trades earlier this offseason to acquire both Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel, general manager Adam Peters has proven he's willing to wheel and deal.
Getting Hendrickson might even push the Commanders ahead of the Eagles on paper before the start of the season.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
If the Raiders want to make the playoffs in the loaded AFC West, it's not impossible. But at the present moment, they are going to have to overcome having one of the worst defenses (on paper) in the entire NFL.
The Raiders have Maxx Crosby and a whole cast of characters made up of former first-round busts and reclamation projects on the defensive side of the ball. Even with the price of a 1st-round pick, which could be high for them next year, a player like Hendrickson paired up with Maxx Crosby would be devastating for opposing teams to have to deal with.
With the complete and utter failure of the Christian Wilkins investment, Pete Carroll and the new-look Raiders need a new impact player for their defensive front. They would arguably benefit more than any other AFC team for the short term by making a deal like this.