Pass rusher has been one of the hottest topics for Chicago Bears fans going into this season. They feel the position isn’t strong enough. Not if they want to take down a loaded division. Montez Sweat is good. Everybody else at defensive end comes with questions. Dayo Odeyingbo isn’t known for high sack numbers. Austin Booker is having a great preseason, but is totally unproven in real games. The Bears feel like they’re one injury away from a serious crisis. That is why people have pushed for GM Ryan Poles to make a bold move, with Trey Hendrickson being one of the most popular names mentioned.
It is well-documented that the Pro Bowl defensive end is at a contract impasse with the Cincinnati Bengals. Nothing has been resolved for months. Still, many felt the two sides would eventually reach some agreement. Instead, things just tumbled off a cliff. Reports surfaced that the Bengals have started listening to trade offers for their star pass rusher. Three teams are already involved, and it isn’t crazy to think the Bears are or eventually will be.
Trey Hendrickson would be an expensive rental.
He is 30 years old. There is no telling how many great seasons he has left. NFL players normally don’t get past 33 before they regress. So at most you’re looking at three more years. Trey Hendrickson is looking for big money. We’re talking $30 million per year. The Bears can find the cap space to make that work, but is it worth it? Cincinnati will want at least a high draft pick (likely a 1st) for him. They won’t get it, so it’ll hover around a 2nd and change. Poles already proved he’d do such a trade with Sweat, but he was three years younger. This comes down to whether the Bears feel his addition to the roster makes them Super Bowl contenders.
If so, the decision is easy. There are reasons to think both Hendrickson and Cincinnati would be interested. A trade reunites him with Dennis Allen, who developed the defensive end in New Orleans. It also puts him in the NFC, where the Bengals wouldn’t have to see him after this year. The odds don’t favor it, but then again the same was said about Khalil Mack.
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