The New England Patriots haven’t been shy about making splash moves to accelerate their rebuild this offseason, but there’s room for one more big swing before or during the 2025 NFL draft, if it yields a prolific edge-rusher worth $34 million per year.
Being one of the few teams able to meet his financial demands, makes the Pats a natural fit for Trey Hendrickson, according to The 33rd Team’s Ian Valentino.
He named the Cincinnati Bengals defensive end as a top candidate to be traded during the draft.
Valentino pointed out how “paying a 30-year-old pass-rusher might be daunting for some franchises, but the two highest-paid defensive ends are at least 30. Hendrickson deserves at least $34 million per year.”
While the Bengals “don’t seem too concerned with appeasing” the star of their defense, the Patriots would use Hendrickson to complete a makeover of their front seven.
He “could fetch a first-round pick,” but the Pats would surely be reluctant to give up the fourth-overall pick this year.
That makes any potential trade package complicated to work out, but New England still has the resources to get a deal done. Along with the salary cap space to give Hendrickson what he wants.
Trey Hendrickson Trade Would Create Something Special for Patriots
Putting together a sweet enough deal to land Hendrickson would arguably be as good as any other move the Patriots might make during the draft. Hendrickson is at least as talented as any player they will take fourth overall.
He’s a four-time Pro Bowler with 77 career sacks to his credit. Hendrickson can take over games when he’s at his best.
Like when he won with speed to power against the Las Vegas Raiders last season, for a sack highlighted by Aaron Day of DLineVids.
Trey Hendrickson with the best #SpeedToPower rush I’ve seen this season. All starts with the great get off from the wide alignment!
Hendrickson puts pressure on the OL’s set & when he transitions to power, it’s full commitment. He floors the OL & gets the sack! #PassRush
Plays like this one are why Hendrickson led the league with 17.5 sacks in 2024. He’s recorded the “MOST sacks since 2023 (30.5),” per former NFL tight end Clay Harbor. The latter also pointed out how Hendrickson “hasn’t missed a game the past 2 years.”
Hendrickson is a durable and consistent game-wrecker, the kind of force the sack-shy Patriots need. He’d fit perfectly along a defensive front remodelled during free agency.
It’s a group with the potential to be something special, provided the Pats add more talent.
Patriots Not Done Rebuilding Defensive Line
New head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t waste time adding a favorite from his days with the Tennessee Titans to the edge-rusher depth chart.
That move preceded a $104 million splash for one of the top interior disruptors on the market.
Putting Hendrickson into the mix with these new faces would turn the pass rush from a weakness into the strongest part of the team.
If those moves were boosted by the return to health of dominant defensive tackle Christian Barmore, the Patritos would immediately field the best front four in the AFC East, a quartet to rival any in the NFL.
The possibilities of this D-line make any chance to trade for Hendrickson worthy of serious consideration.
Particularly when one anonymous executive told The Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora the Bengals are “being unreasonable” about Hendrickson’s demands for a new contract, while another nameless exec thinks “if they (Bengals) can’t get him signed this week, I think he’s gone by the draft.”
Being at the front of the queue to take advantage of the Bengals’ parsimony makes sense for a Patriots team still boasting a league-leading $68,473,805 worth of cap space, per Spotrac.com.
That money could be used to fund a deal for a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Yet, Hendrickson’s situation and age make a trade involving him a more realistic scenario, even it takes first-round compensation this year or next to make it happen.
