Only one team makes sense for Trey Hendrickson

It took much longer than anticipated, but the Trey Hendrickson era is finally over for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals didn't tag the star pass-rusher, who will now become a free agent. And while he can technically sign another deal to stay with Zac Taylor's team, he already released a statement bidding farewell to his teammates and the fans:

"To the Cincinnati Fans: Thank you for supporting me in the relentless pursuit of winning," the statement read. "You've made the Jungle Roar when I hunted QB after QB! Memories of those moments will live in my heart & mind forever."

Hendrickson won't be as sought-after as he could've been when he led the league in sacks last offseason, but he'll still be a hot commodity. However, there's only one team that makes perfect sense for both parties: the New England Patriots.

Patriots need to sell the farm to sign Trey Hendrickson

The Patriots were tied for the seventh-fewest sacks in the league last season (35). Only Harold Landry III (8.5) and K'Lavon Chaisson (7.5) had more than four sacks, and the latter is set to be a free agent.

According to Over the Cap, the Patriots have $39.2 million in available cap space, and Spotrac projects Hendrickson's new deal to be in the $25.4 million range. Even at 31 and coming off a down year after posting 35 combined sacks in the past couple of seasons, he's still a game-changing pass-rusher who can take this team to the next level.

Mike Vrabel's team reached the Super Bowl but failed to put pressure on the quarterback. Now, with a first-place schedule ahead of it, it will need to dominate in the trenches to get back to the biggest stage.