Trey Hendrickson was one of the few big-name free agents not to sign on the first day of the legal tampering period Monday, and we now have a clear idea why.
Teams simply have not met Hendrickson’s asking price so far in free agency. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the gap between Hendrickson’s demands and what teams have offered so far is as high as $10 million.
As of this morning there were teams I spoke with who said the gap between what he wanted and what they were willing to pay was close to $10M per year https://t.co/9Yf1TRKEHc
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 10, 2026
Hendrickson probably would have broken the bank a year ago, but he wound up having to play on the franchise tag for the Cincinnati Bengals. Injuries limited the star edge rusher to just four sacks in seven games, and teams might have some concerns about the 31-year-old’s durability that did not exist a year ago.
On the other hand, Hendrickson has been dynamic when healthy. He had back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons in 2023 and 2024, and it is very rare that production like that becomes available. Teams will have to decide whether the risk is worth the potential reward, and at what cost.
Not much is known about Hendrickson’s market, but he has been linked to one team as an ideal fit.
