New Trey Hendrickson report reveals yet another misstep by Bengals front office

As has been the case with many of the Bengals' roster decisions, this is a mistake. The 30-year-old pass rusher was the subject of trade rumors all summer, and though the two sides eventually agreed to restructure his 2025 contract, it seems all but certain that Hendrickson will depart in free agency. This trade deadline is the Bengals’ last chance to get anything of value for Hendrickson, who would still fetch a valuable draft pick despite his looming free agency. 

Of course, the reason the Bengals wouldn’t trade him is that they still believe that they could make a playoff run, but the odds are still stacked against them. Flacco may be able to capitalize on the talent of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins better than Jake Browning did, but he doesn’t change the fact that their defense ranks 31st in yards allowed and touchdowns allowed. Throw in the fact that Chase Brown has been one of the league’s least efficient runners and it seems like the only way for the Bengals to win is for Flacco to play exactly like he did last Thursday, which is quite an ask for a 40-year-old journeyman who was just benched by the Browns. 

Even if the Bengals defeat the winless Jets this week, their path towards competitive December football is daunting. Four of their following five games are against teams with winning records, and the one that isn’t is a Sunday Night game in Baltimore. So while the Bengals can believe they can stay relevant by the time Burrow comes back, the far more likely scenario is that they are eliminated from postseason contention before he steps on the field. 

As tough as it is to pull the plug on a year of Burrow, Chase and Higgins, the Bengals should trade Hendrickson at the deadline and start building for 2026.