Trey Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks on an otherwise horrific Cincinnati Bengals defense in 2024. With Hendrickson’s contract set to expire this season, it’s distinctly possible that the veteran pass rusher will be on a new team sooner rather than later. Without a new contract, Hendrickson ain’t playing another down for the Bengals. The latest news is that contract talks have resumed after Hendrickson sat out minicamp.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently appeared on Seattle Sports 710 to talk about the Seahawks, including Brock and Salk co-host Mike Salk’s idea of Seattle acquiring Hendrickson in exchange for a second- and fifth-round pick. Consider Jeremiah a fan of the proposal.
“I know you’ve got to pay him a bunch of money, but heck yeah, man,” Jeremiah said (via SeattleSports.com). “I’d be in the business of trying to collect great players. (The Seahawks have) a fast defense. They’ve got a very talented defense. But man, you throw in a guy like that who’s gonna get off the bus and get you 12 to 15 sacks because he’s such a good, natural, instinctive pass rusher? And you’re in a division where you’ve gotta go hunt Matthew Stafford?
“Yeah, 100%, I would try and be in on that.”
The Seahawks are coming off a year in which they finally had a player crack 10+ sacks for the first time since 2018. Leonard Williams notched 11 sacks on the year but he’s predominantly an interior player. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall combined for 14 sacks, or 3.5 less than Hendrickson managed last year.
“They’re a good defense now,” Jeremiah said. “They’re a fast defense and they’re athletic and they’ve added some more young pieces. But when you get down to it, when you get to third-and-7 and you’re looking at this front, you go, OK, man, there’s a lot of really good players there. But I don’t know that I’m looking at that group saying, OK, this is 100% where I’ve got to direct extra attention.
“And I think he would be that guy.”
Hendrickson has a non-guaranteed $15 million salary for 2025. That’s not much of a concern for any team looking to trade for him; it’s gauging his market value as a 30-year-old who’s presumably seeking something a lot more than the $15 million/year he signed for as a free agent back in 2021. He’s racked up double-digit sacks four of his last five seasons, so he’s in the prime of his career.
While I see the rationale behind looking to get Hendrickson, I’d be surprised if the Seahawks did one of those “mortgage the future to try and win a championship now” moves. The only thing to note is that Boye Mafe is entering the last year of his contract and there’s hardly a guarantee he’s going to be on Seattle’s roster in 2026. Would Seattle think about upgrading at an already good position at the risk of getting older and more expensive? I don’t know.
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