One of the biggest stories in the National Football League this week was the fact a blockbuster trade between the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders fell through. In the initial transaction, the Raiders were trading defensive end Maxx Crosby of Lapeer, Michigan to the Ravens for a first round pick in 2026 and 2027. However, the Ravens expressed concerns when Crosby failed his physical, and backed out of the deal on Tuesday.
As a result, Baltimore went to plan B at the defensive end position. There is a possibility that Plan B may just be better than plan A. That is because the Ravens have signed premier defensive end Trey Hendrickson of Orlando, Florida to a four year deal worth $112 million. This means Hendrickson will be making a whopping $28 million per year. Yes folks, Hendrickson passed the physical according to Jayna Bardahl of the Athletic.
Hendrickson is joining his third National Football League franchise. He previously played four seasons with the New Orleans Saints from 2017 to 2020, and the last five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2021 to 2025.
The fact that Hendrickson is leaving the Bengals should not be a huge surprise. That is because there were rumours he requested a trade prior to last season.
It should be noted that despite Hendrickson was in the lineup for the Bengals, he was on a team that had the third worst defense in the NFL. Only the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys were worse. During his time in Cincinnati, Hendrickson was selected to the Pro Bowl for four straight years from 2021 to 2024. He missed 10 games last season with a hip and pelvis injury.
In 2025, Hendrickson had 16 combined tackles (11 solo tackles and five assisted tackles), three tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, four sacks, one pass deflection and one forced fumble. The pass deflection came in a 31-27 Bengals win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 14.
