After the Cincinnati Bengals selected Shemar Stewart with the 17th overall selection in the NFL Draft, the questions about Trey Hendrickson’s future got a bit louder.
With Myles Murphy in the room as a first round pick and another premium pick going for Stewart, could this mean the Bengals are more likely to trade Hendrickson?
When speaking to the media about the pick, Head coach Zac Taylor said selecting Stewart had nothing to do with Hendrickson’s future.
“No, this is not a story about anybody else,” Taylor stated. ”I don’t think you can ever have enough defensive linemen, especially in this league and this division, so this doesn’t speak to anyone else that’s on our football team.
“This is just adding another weapon to our defense that we can utilize and keep guys fresh, keep guys coming after the quarterback and being relentless against the run. Again, this just speaks to how we want to play football. We want a stout defense, and a lot of times, that starts up front. Adding pieces to that puzzle up front is always helpful for us.”
Taylor is well versed in coach speak, so he likely wouldn’t tip his hand if the team was looking to move Hendrickson, especially if it were for draft capital in this year’s draft.
If a team gets overly aggressive and offers the Bengals a package full of day two picks on Friday, they could make a move if they felt it was an offer too good to pass on. With that said, it is highly unlikely that Hendrickson will be moved.