In a first-of-its-kind move, two top edge rushers were pursued for weeks. Then one finally appeared to sign with a team. After a few weeks, what happens? The franchise calls off that deal, citing “due to medical reasons [failed physical]. ”
This opened the door for another top edge rusher who had not signed any deal with any franchise. He was patiently waiting for a blockbuster contract [one of its kind]. And he’s certainly worth it too [16 total tackles and 4.0 sacks in just seven games last season!]
Before the guessing begins: yes, we are talking about the Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport just broke the news on X that the 31-year-old edge is set to sign with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Lamar Jackson-led Ravens have acquired the top pass rusher available on the NFL free agency market.
Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson set to take the spot left vacant by Maxx Crosby in Baltimore Ravens
Ian Rapoport reports on X that the veteran edge agreed to a four-year contract worth $112M with $60M fully guaranteed, and $28.5M per year.
The Insider said the deal could happen because Hendrickson believed in himself, knew his worth was close to $30M. He waited and waited but no team was willing to agree to that ask.
The Ravens lost Crosby to a failed physical, and then they acquired the best defensive end available in free agency. And if he’s asking for the best value, he may very well receive that. That’s what Baltimore did with Hendrickson.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Buffalo Bills, and the Washington Commanders were interested, but the Ravens hung around, and then the Crosby deal fell apart due to medical issues, and they quickly moved to the Bengals edge.
When a player gets what he demands, he will happily perform better than expected. The four-time Pro Bowler has accumulated 81.0 career sacks, 236 tackles, and 15 forced fumbles to date.
He’s the league’s leading pass rusher with 17.5 sacks in both 2023 and 2024. In 2025, he missed 10 games due to a core muscle injury and subsequent surgery. But in the seven games that he played, he was unstoppable, recording 16 total tackles and 4.0 sacks.
With such impeccable scores, he’s going to be an unbeatable force in Baltimore. To top it off, Lamar Jackson probably needed someone just like him to strengthen/support/complement him.
So that leaves us with Crosby. As reported by Rapoport, the 28-year-old edge rusher is back with his parent franchise, the Tom Brady-part-owned Las Vegas Raiders.
