Following the Baltimore Ravens’ decision to back out of a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for star defensive end Maxx Crosby before the start of free agency, general manager Eric DeCosta told reporters that the team planned to consider signing defensive end Trey Hendrickson in addition to Crosby.
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“So we had started discussions with (Crosby and Hendrickson),” DeCosta said, via NFL Media. “We had already agreed to potentially the trade with the Raiders. We were trying to sign Tyler, obviously. We weren’t able to get that done.
“Looking at the best ways for us to improve our football team, at some point, we just said, ‘You know what? This might be a guy that really fits us,’ and we played against [Hendrickson] twice a year for the last, whatever many years, four or five years. And thought, ‘Hey, maybe this is a way for us to get better as a football team.’ So that was definitely a possibility for us, not to say it would have happened, but definitely something that we had contemplated and discussed with Trey.”
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On March 11, the Ravens agreed to a four-year contract with Hendrickson for $112 million, with $60 million guaranteed. Baltimore backed out of the trade with Crosby on March 10.
DeCosta was criticized for using Hendrickson as an “option B” for Crosby.
During an appearance on Terron Armstead’s “The Set” podcast, Hendrickson appeared to confirm DeCosta’s version of events, saying he was “looking forward” to working alongside Crosby in 2026.
“I was looking forward to rushing with him,” Hendrickson said. “Like what an incredible opportunity that would have been to have a bookend like that terrorizing quarterbacks, getting running backs to the ground. That’s what got me excited.”
While the timeline of events suggests Hendrickson might have thought it was a possibility for him and Crosby to be on the same team, the salary cap appears to tell another story.
Per Over the Cap, Baltimore is in the red for 2027 by over $12 million. How the Ravens could afford to sign Hendrickson and take on Crosby’s contract remains a mystery.
After the Ravens backed out of the deal after failed physical, no salary cap guru had to do the magic to keep both pass-rushers on the roster.
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