Bills, Ravens must go all-in for Trey Hendrickson

The Cincinnati Bengals' decision to not place a franchise or transition tag on superstar edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson means he will be hitting the unrestricted free-agent market next week. He figures to be one of the top players available, and there are no shortage of teams that will have an interest.

But there are two AFC contenders that should be willing to go all-in for him more than any other. 

Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills have big opportunities to fix pass-rushing woes

The Ravens and Bills entered the 2025 season as two of the top Super Bowl favorites in the AFC, and both ended up having bitterly disappointing seasons. The Ravens missed the playoffs entirely, while the Bills had to settle for a wild-card spot and went one-and-done in the playoffs.

While there were multiple layers to both team's struggles, the one common denominator between the two of them was the lack of a truly disruptive pass-rushing presence.

The Ravens finished the season with just 30 sacks, a number that topped only two teams in the NFL. 

The Bills were only 20th with 36 sacks. 

As the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles showed in the past two Super Bowl runs, a dominant pass rush can be a game-changing aspect for any team. It disrupts passing games, puts pressure on quarterbacks, and if you can achieve it with just four players, it puts even more people into coverage, creating smaller windows to pass through. There is a reason why pass-rushers are some of the most sought-after players in both the NFL Draft and free agency every year. 

Even though Hendrickson will turn 32 in December, and even though he is coming off an injury-shortened 2025 campaign, he can still be one of the most disruptive pass-rushers in the league when he is healthy. He is just one year removed from back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons, and even if he does not quite reach that level again, he should still be in the double-digit range for at least another season or two. He could be a key piece for a contender that is close to winning it all.

Given his presence in free agency, as well as the potential for a Maxx Crosby trade away from the Las Vegas Raiders, the Bills and Ravens should have options to land the pass-rusher they covet. They need to aggressively go for them.