There isn’t much negative to say about the Chicago Bears’ offseason. They accomplished almost every objective they had when things started in March. Upgrade the offensive line? Check. Beef up the defensive line? Check. Get Caleb Williams more weapons? Check that too. The only complaint people have had is a concern about not landing a legitimate workhorse running back, forcing new head coach Ben Johnson to figure out a committee of D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, and Travis Homer. However, some believe the Bears didn’t do enough to upgrade their pass rush, which is why the Trey Hendrickson noise never went away.
Dayo Odeyingbo was a good player in Indianapolis, but nobody would put him in the category of an elite pass rusher. Hendrickson is that. He led the league in sacks last season. He’s worked with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen before. It seems like such a natural fit. Sadly, signs indicated the Cincinnati Bengals had made progress with him on a new deal to stay. However, things appear to have taken a serious nosedive since the draft ended last month. Hendrickson is unhappy, and the divide between the two sides is widening.
Trey Hendrickson sounds like he wants out.
Cincinnati has a long track record of these kinds of problems. Players become stars there, and when they expect to get compensated for it, the organization tries dancing around the subject. This leads to bad blood and an eventual trade or exit out of town. It happened with Carson Palmer, Andrew Whitworth, Kevin Zeitler, and Jessie Bates III. It feels like Trey Hendrickson is heading down that road. All it takes is for things to reach a crisis point where the Bengals realize there is no going back.
From there, teams will be calling about a possible trade. The Bears are in a good position to do so. They have enough wiggle room to handle the contract issue. Everything depends on the draft compensation. A 1st or 2nd round pick feels unlikely given the age and contract. If Chicago can snag him for a 3rd, it could put a cherry on the sundae for this offseason.
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