With no end in sight to the ongoing Trey Hendrickson saga, there were reports that the Patriots were sniffing around at a potential trade. While New England was understandably doing its due diligence, it doesn’t sound like they’re close to acquiring the star pass rusher.
[RELATED: Patriots Open To Trade Acquisition]
According to Josina Anderson, the Patriots feel the cost to acquire Hendrickson is currently “too much.” Dianna Russini of The Athletic adds that New England doesn’t appear close to acquiring the 2024 sacks leader.
There were rumblings yesterday that the Patriots had reached out to the Bengals about a potential Hendrickson trade. That report followed remarks from New England’s de facto general manager Eliot Wolf that the organization would be willing to part with a first- or second-round pick to facilitate a trade for a star player. Wolf obviously didn’t mention any names, but the timing of both reports did raise some eyebrows.
If the Patriots are indeed willing to part with a first-round pick for a hypothetical “star player,” it stands to reason that the Bengals may be asking for even more draft compensation in return for Hendrickson. An acquiring team would presumably be willing to pay the edge rusher what he’s seeking, so a trade would likely end this ongoing storyline. Instead, the Hendrickson watch continues, with the player most recently acknowledging that guarantees remain the sticking point in negotiations with the Bengals (per ESPN’s Ben Baby).
While any team would surely welcome a player of Hendrickson’s talent, the Patriots are a particularly logical landing spot after the team ranked last in sacks in 2024. The Patriots only compiled 28 total sacks, trailing the 31st-ranked Falcons by three. For comparison’s sake, Hendrickson has collected 17.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons.
To the front office’s credit, the organization did bring in some pass-rush help this offseason. Free agent additions Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson should provide some help on the edge, while Milton Williams has shown an elite ability to get to the QB in the middle of the defensive line. With Keion White showing promise as a sophomore, New England’s pass rush should look a whole lot better in 2025. Of course, adding Hendrickson to the grouping would transform the Patriots’ pass-rush unit to one of the best in the NFL.
Based on how the Bengals have operated throughout this entire saga, it’s not a surprise they’re not feeling any urgency to figure out a solution. If Cincy does eventually decide to move on, the Patriots would remain a logical landing spot.
No need to rush. They’ll come crawling back when they lower the price. Not many teams out there can offer the money to sign him for what he wants plus the draft capital. NE has both. Wait it out.
Raiders are also well under the Salary Cap.
Teams with significant cap space:
New England Patriots: $46.4 million.
Washington Commanders: $43.4 million.
Detroit Lions: $40.3 million.
Arizona Cardinals: $35.5 million.
Las Vegas Raiders: $34.1 million.
I see Washington as a player here. They need a pass rusher and have the space to sign him and McLaurin.
Bengals don’t need to sign him. They have him under contract and then they will tag him. If he doesn’t want to play for two years, then he will be lose a ton of money and his career will basically be over.
They can’t afford to franchise him.
I think they set the price high because they think he won’t sit out the season. If he blinks first and plays I think the Bengals will give him his money. He’s not lazy, he’s not stupid, he’s just painted himself into a corner and both sides have to much pride to back down. And if I’m wrong and they get a first round draft pick out of it it’s still a win. It’s my opinion so that and a dollar will get you a sweet tea at McDonald’s.
Those are 1983 prices brotha.
I saw a commercial for the dollar drinks not to long ago I thought, but I might just be hallucinating.
A large fry is 6$ so you’re prolly hallucinating.
Good move by the Bengals. They have all the leverage and can always tag and trade next offseason if need be
And Burrows gets a year older and they still have not won jack squat.
Meanwhile the Pats are rebuilding and have no reason to make this deal, oh yeah PLUS 6 Trophies.
Bengals don’t have leverage bc they are the freaking Bengals.
IF Henrickson does hold out until week 6, Bengals will have the worst D in the league and very poor chance to make the playoffs.
The Off season will be Burrows asking, or demanding out and it will be ANOTHER year of disappointment.
Meanwhile, Drake Maye will get exp, his O line will improve and the Pats will find a pass rusher in FA and draft another 1st, which will probably be more help for Maye.
Sorry, Bengal fan and Cowboy fan are DELUSIONAL. It will not end well for their franchises.
Still riding those Brady years I see.
You said it, brother.
He’s under contract. Just get your a$$ in camp or don’t be surprised when your direct deposit doesn’t post. Ridiculous
Yeah always siding with Billionaires works out so well.
These types of posts just show how little people understand NFL contracts. Using GENERAL contract knowledge is not how to understand Entertainment contracts. Henrickson is the talent, he has all the leverage.
Dont be surprised if the Bengals lose, miss the playoffs and Burrows asks to be traded next Off Season. Good luck!!!
He has zero leverage. He is under contract. An extension he signed. The Bengals can franchise tag him next year. So the bengals have him for up to 2 years. An aging player trying to cash out one more time. I get that. But saying he has other leverage is wrong.
You can’t MAKE someone play. Lol
Burrow
It honestly surprises me how sports “fans” like stanton100 still exist, go watch the Owners in their press box (assuming they even attend the games) if you don’t like professional athletes.
I think every situation is different.
I sided with the Bills over Cook, but Im leaning toward Hendrickson over the Bengals.
Its not about my team vs another either – I just think its right to view situation differently based on what the facts are. Hendrickson was told last year he would get taken care of this offseason, and Im not siding with an owner there.
But that doesn’t mean that I think Stanton’s philosophy is right all the time. These guys are not playing for peanuts.
Agreed, Bills1. Every situation is different, regardless of how much money either party has made.
Raiders will give you Tyree Wilson straight up for him ……
Robert Kraft isn’t going to spend for these premium players especially since it would be years before the Patriots could return to the glory days.
Kraft will do what his football people suggests. That’s why he wins.
Tom Brady and to a certain extent, yes, Bill Belichick were the ones winning… Kraft simply owns the team that they won with
They’ve got nearly 60 million in cap space in August.
They’ve got good vibes with Drake Maye in year two with a respected head coach.
Why not trade for him? This makes a ton of sense. This is exactly the kind of situation that makes sense.
Certainly more than an older WR diva coming off ACL.
If the goal is to maximize Maye, I’m going with McLaurin over Hendricksen.
That makes sense too!
All these guys cost too much. WTF? They’re just playing a game.
Now go look at how much the owners make. How they force cities into paying for extremely expensive stadiums. Folks aren’t going out to watch the owners own, so a huge chunk of the money should go to those who are generating it.
Here’s a wicked idea, go look up the amount of money a team owner makes just for owning a team. “Owning” as in, owning a team, not even playing a game.
Searching “wickedasitseems profootballrumors.com” and looking at his comments shows how much of a POS he is
I didn’t realize Washington has much much space. That’s a Cowboys nightmare if Parsons goes to Washington