Have Bengals made Trey Hendrickson available ahead of trade deadline?

While the Cincinnati Bengals and veteran pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson agreed to a short-term fix regarding the final year of his contract in August, Hendrickson nevertheless was the subject of trade rumors even before the Bengals fell to 3-5 on the season via an upset home loss to the New York Jets this past Sunday. 

For an article published on Wednesday, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN addressed whether or not the Bengals have made Hendrickson available to other clubs ahead of the upcoming trade deadline, which will arrive at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

What are other teams hearing about Trey Hendrickson ahead of trade deadline?

"Up to this point, the Bengals have rebuffed trade inquiries, and sources have maintained that Cincinnati has no plans to trade Hendrickson right now," Fowler wrote. Fowler noted that the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers had been interested in Hendrickson, but the 49ers agreed to acquire Keion White from the New England Patriots on Tuesday. The Patriots are also among the teams that could look to bolster their pass rush before Nov. 4. 

The Bengals will be without injured starting quarterback Joe Burrow through at least some point in December, and Cincinnati may be responsible for the league's worst defense this fall. Fowler thinks there's a chance that the Bengals will become sellers if they suffer a home loss to the Chicago Bears (4-3) this coming Sunday. 

Jeremy Fowler links Trey Hendrickson with advertised Super Bowl contender

The Indianapolis Colts emerged as one of the top positive surprises of the season when they won seven of their first eight games to climb to the top of the AFC South standings. Fowler shared why the Colts could be an ideal landing spot for Hendrickson, depending on the outcome of the Bears-Bengals clash. 

"The Colts make a ton of sense as a contending team that could be the proverbial 'one player away,'" Fowler added. "It would also represent a reunion between Hendrickson and former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, now running the defense in Indianapolis."

As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had the Bengals as 2.5-point home underdogs against the Bears. Time will tell if Cincinnati is truly one loss away from punting on the remainder of the campaign.