{"id":763239,"date":"2026-02-19T21:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/763239\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:42:17","slug":"bengals-superstar-trey-hendrickson-predicted-to-leave-for-afc-rival-on-2-year-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/763239\/","title":{"rendered":"Bengals Superstar Trey Hendrickson Predicted to Leave for AFC Rival on 2-Year Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\">The Cincinnati Bengals are backed into a tough spot with their best defensive player Trey Hendrickson this offseason.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">The Bengals opted against trading Hendrickson while they had the chance, which is a fine decision, but injuries derailed them from making a playoff run last season. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">Now the superstar edge rusher is set to become a free agent next, and the Bengals aren&#8217;t expected to retain him.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">Bleacher Report&#8217;s Alex Kay recently made the shocking prediction that Hendrickson would leave the Bengals in free agency and <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25397561-best-team-fit-projected-contract-top-2026-nfl-free-agent-every-position\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">sign a two-year, $40 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens.<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">While Hendrickson may end up in Baltimore, there are a few things that are worth noting with this prediction. <\/p>\n<p>Trey Hendrickson Won&#8217;t Sign for $20 Million Per Year<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01khva75p2zmmtc9xe3h.jpg\" alt=\"Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickso\" title=\"Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickso\" width=\"7181\" height=\"4039\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"72\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Sep 14, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;  Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates the win after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">&#8220;While his campaign was a bust, he&#8217;s only a year removed from the latest of his back-to-back 17.5 sack seasons. The four-time Pro Bowler has long been considered one of the NFL&#8217;s best pass-rushers and shouldn&#8217;t have much trouble regaining that status with a new team in 2026,&#8221; Kay wrote. &#8220;Landing with one of Cincy&#8217;s fierce AFC North rivals could be exactly what Hendrickson needs to rejuvenate his career. The Baltimore Ravens make perfect sense for the 31-year-old to sign with and could help him quickly return to superstar form.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">&#8220;Baltimore mustered a meager 30 sacks in 2025\u2014a 24-sack drop-off from the previous season\u2014and lacked a difference-maker on the edge. Travis Jones led the team with a mere five sacks across his 16 contests. Hendrickson averaged 14.1 sacks per season between 2020-24, production the Ravens sorely need to get back to playing the type of high level defense the franchise is known for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">There are a few pieces of this prediction to unpack.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">First of all, it would be a Bengals nightmare to see Hendrickson suit up for the Ravens. Losing him is going to be tough enough, but having to play him in a heated division rivalry for the next few years would be a disaster.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">Second of all, Hendrickson would likely laugh at a deal worth $20 million per season. There are 16 edge rushers making at least $20 million per year. Considering Hendrickson is top five at the position (top 10 if we&#8217;re playing it safe), he would be worth at least $30 million per year. The veteran was paid $29 million last season. It&#8217;s hard to imagine him taking a paycut.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7l\">Hendrickson is projected to make more than $30 million per season according to the most recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/bengals\/onsi\/news\/bengals-star-trey-hendrickson-projected-to-sign-massive-deal-in-free-agency-01khrwwadrxn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">projections from The Athletic. <\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\">For more on the Bengals,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@BengalsTalk?sub_confirmation=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">subscribe to our YouTube Channel<\/a>\u00a0and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/cincinnati-bengals-talk\/id1789855235\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tr.ee\/Pr_-yuVTFI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1333-cincinnati-bengals-talk-256880212\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iHeartRadio<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/030daf38-754f-4a5f-9846-3c5689070770\/cincinnati-bengals-talk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\">More NFL:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/bengals\/onsi\/gm-report\/bengals-should-take-page-out-of-chiefs-playbook-to-build-contender-around-joe-burrow-01khrh8r18nt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bengals Should Take Page Out of Chiefs&#8217; Playbook to Build Contender Around Joe Burrow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cincinnati Bengals are backed into a tough spot with their best defensive player Trey Hendrickson this offseason.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-763239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116099478699988657","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}