Big news in the AFC North: The Cincinnati Bengals have granted Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade, according to Ian Rapoport. Considering the Bengals rarely make big trades, this is pretty shocking to see but Baltimore Ravens fans would love it if Hendrickson was shipped out of the division and could terrorize another division instead.
Hendrickson, a third-round pick by the Saints in 2017, joined the Bengals in 2021 and helped turn things around for the franchise. Cincinnati reached the Super Bowl in the 2021 season and made back-to-back AFC Championships in 2021 and 2022 with Hendrickson being a big reason for that.
One would think that the Bengals pass-rusher would have slowed down as he approached 30 but nope, Hendrickson is coming off another prolific season where he had 17.5 sacks for the second straight year.
Ravens fans won't miss Trey Hendrickson if the Bengals end up trading him
The Bengals have to make a ton of decisions as far as which players to pay and which players to trade or let walk. One would think that with how poorly their defense played in 2024 that Hendrickson would be an absolute must-keep, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Instead of keeping their one good defensive player, the Bengals are going to pay a quarterback and two wide receivers a ton of money and then have nothing left to pay the defense. Solid plan.
While the Ravens mostly kept Hendrickson in check this past season (he didn't have any sacks on Lamar Jackson), it's always great to see top players leave the division, especially in dramatic situations like these. The more drama the Bengals are dealing with, the more entertaining for Ravens fans.
If Hendrickson is traded, not having to go up against him twice a year will be a nice relief for the Ravens offensive line. It'd also be a major hit to Cincinnati's defense, which gives Baltimore an excellent chance at winning another division title.
Fingers crossed that this ends up happening so the Ravens can hopefully run away with the AFC North in 2025.
