49ers may have already chosen between Bengals' Trey Hendrickson, Raiders' Maxx Crosby

A San Francisco 49ers side in need of a pass-rusher is among the many teams that have been linked with Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals and Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders.

During a Thursday appearance on San Francisco Bay Area sports radio station KNBR, 49ers insider Matt Barrows of The Athletic suggested that the club views Hendrickson as more of a realistic option than Crosby. 

49ers "monitoring" Trey Hendrickson market? 

"As far as Trey Hendrickson, they are going to be one of the teams that, at the very least, is in the conversation. They're monitoring the situation," Barrows said about the Niners, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "...He's only a year removed from leading the league in sacks. His market will be pretty good."

Specifically, Hendrickson recorded the league's most regular-season sacks (35) from 2023 through 2024. More recently, however, the veteran who turned 31 years old this past December played in just seven games during the 2025 season before he needed core surgery. 

For a piece published on Friday, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano predicted that Hendrickson will receive a three-year, $84M deal with $42M guaranteed from the Indianapolis Colts. It's unclear if the 49ers would match or better such an offer when the "legal tampering" portion of free agency gets underway at noon ET this coming Monday. 

Why 49ers may pass on Maxx Crosby

While Hendrickson is set to reach free agency, Crosby is under contract via the three-year, $106.5M extension he signed last offseason. Some have said the Raiders won't trade him for anything less than two first-round draft picks and a starting player, and it appears that the Baltimore Ravens may be the new favorites to land Crosby. 

"Maxx Crosby is going to get a lot of attention. There could be as many as 20 teams in that," Barrows added during the segment. "...It could be a situation where the compensation gets out of hand, the 49ers can't match. They don't have a great first-round pick."

Perhaps the 49ers will go all-in on acquiring Crosby if Hendrickson comes to terms with a different team before the Raiders accept a package of assets for their defensive star.