The Cincinnati Bengals and All-Pro pass rusher Trey Hendrickson look headed for a split this offseason. While his time in Cincinnati was a big win for both sides, that's looking like it's coming to an end.
He's set to be a free agent this offseason, and the Bengals have a few decisions to make. They could simply let him walk, which is within the realm of possibility. But, they could also try to keep him with a new contract or a franchise tag.
But, as ESPN's Aaron Schatz writes, the Bengals are instead more likely to execute an interesting sign-and-trade strategy with Hendrickson this offseason than they are to franchise tag him or keep him.
Bengals expected to sign-and-trade Trey Hendrickson
"It is a possibility that the Bengals use their franchise tag on Hendrickson, who is about to hit free agency," Schatz writes, "but it seems that some sort of sign-and-trade deal is more likely."
The Bengals and Hendrickson are heading towards a split this offseason. And for the Bengals, they will want to recoup the most value possible in letting him walk.
If they simply don't re-sign him, letting him hit free agency, the best they could get is a third-round compensatory draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. That pick wouldn't be guaranteed, which might lead to a situation Schatz is expecting.
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Executing a sign and trade with Hendrickson would give the Bengals guaranteed draft picks. They might not be able to land a third-round pick as they would if they let him walk, but there could be conditions on the trade to bump up the draft pick.
Say, if Hendrickson, for his new team, accrues 10+ sacks, the Bengals would receive that team's third-round pick instead of their fourth-round pick.
Such a deal might make the most sense for the Bengals and Hendrickson's new team. Ideally, for Hendrickson, he will be able to choose his landing spot.
But, the Bengals are expected to try and get back more value for Hendrickson than relying on a compensatory draft pick, with this sign-and-trade expectation made by Schatz being some bad news for Hendrickson, but good news for the Bengals.
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