Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals had a bit of a standoff last offseason. It ended with the pass rusher returning to the team on a revised one-year deal. The main issue here was that Hendrickson was outperforming his contract and simply wanted a raise.
But it did seem a bit odd that Hendrickson only settled for a one-year commitment through the 2025 season. Well, Hendrickson only suited up for seven games in 2025, racking up four sacks, three tackles for loss, and eight QB hits. He battled through a hip injury this year, so his free agency market might not be quite as strong as it could have been.
He's still one of the most notable names on the market, so we ranked the best overall free agency fits for Hendrickson approaching the 2026 NFL Offseason.
Ranking the best free agency fits for Bengals' defensive end Trey Hendrickson
4. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers had just 20 sacks in 2025, which was dead-last in the NFL. Myles Garrett alone had 23, just for reference. It's not a mystery to anyone that the 49ers should be aggressive in trying to find some pass-rush help this offseason, and with Nick Bosa working his way back from injury, the Niners likely want to pair him up with another impact player. Trey Hendrickson would make a ton of sense on a two-year deal for San Francisco, as, despite all of the injuries they went through in 2025, the Niners were still within just one game of the NFC's top playoff seed.
It's not going to be a shock to see the 49ers as one of the best teams in the NFL in 2026 with a beefed-up pass rush and some key players returning from injury.
3. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys shook up their defense last offseason by trading Micah Parsons. They also ended up acquiring Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams, and Logan Wilson. The Cowboys, unsurprisingly, need some pass rush help now, and with this front office being aggressive and oftentimes unpredictable, it really would not be a shock to see Jerry Jones throw a massive free agency contract to Trey Hendrickson. And to be fair to Dallas, this team is just an average defense away from being a contender, as the offense was other-worldly in 2025. The Cowboys aren't that far away from being a legitimate contender in 2026.
2. Chicago Bears
Yet another NFC team that needs some pass rush help, the Chicago Bears are likely going to remake their defensive line in the offseason, similar to how they remade the interior offensive line when Ben Johnson first arrived. Not only do the Bears need another pass rusher, but they will also make some moves to get more stout againt the run. Trey Hednrickson can absolutely help create more pressure on opposing QBs. In 2025, the Bears went 11-6 and won the NFC North. The defense was largely below-average, so that kind of tells you how good this team can be in 2026 if GM Ryan Poles properly fills roster holes.
1. Indianapolis Colts
The most logical fit for Trey Hendrickson is with the Indianapolis Colts, a team that began the 2025 season 7-1 before bottoming out, primarily due to QB Daniel Jones tearing his Achilles. The main reason why Hendrickson is such an easy fit here is because the defensive coordinator is Lou Anarumo, and he was previously the Cincinnati Bengals DC in the 2019-2024 seasons, so he overlapped with Hendrickson and oversaw the best stretch of his career.
In those four seasons where Hendrickson and Anarumo were together in Cincy, Hendrickson had four Pro Bowls, 57 sacks, 155 total tackles, 53 tackles for loss, and 112 QB hits in just 65 games. This is the period where Hendrickson cemented himself as one of the premier pass rushers in the league, and with Indy going all-in during the season, as indicated by the Sauce Gardner trade, GM Chris Ballard surely wants to keep going big-fish hunting.