The Cincinnati Bengals have given Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade. It means, essentially, that Hendrickson’s agent can speak to other teams about his value.
This gives both sides to see what Hendrickson could get on the market so they can decide if the Bengals can extend him or not. But what could a potential trade package look like?
If the Bengals were to trade Hendrickson, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports shared some insight on what their potential return could be.
“Probably a fair, call it conservative estimate, but probably a fair estimate is if the Bengals could get a high three (third-round pick), they would love a low two (second-round pick),” Jones said. “It’s probably going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of a high three.”
A third-round pick for the 2024 league leader in sacks seems low, but he is over 30, and the team trading for him would have to agree to what is probably a massive contract extension with him before a trade can be completed. That could hurt the Bengals when it comes to trade leverage.
If the Bengals can turn the $16 million in cap savings from a potential Hendrickson trade into multiple players on the defense, it could help them rebuild to an extent, but only a third-round pick for one of the best players at a premium position is hard to stomach.
However, as Andre Perrotta notes, this supposed trade value could just be Hendrickson’s agent trying to draw more interest across the league.
The reports of what CIN is willing to accept for a Trey trade are clearly from the agent. The Club gave permission to seek a trade. They didn’t disclose what an acceptable return would be.
This is the agent justifiably trying to draw the largest market possible for his client.
— Andre Perrotta (@andreperrotta13) March 7, 2025