NFL rumors: Cowboys named among likely Trey Hendrickson suitors

Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson will be a prominent offseason name once again this spring. Hendrickson was a major story during the 2025 offseason due to his lengthy contract holdout with the Bengals. Now a potential divorce from the Bengals seems imminent, which has him in the spotlight once more.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler offered an early look at NFL free agency during a recent article. Fowler noted that he expects the Bengals edge rusher to hit free agency in March.

“The Bengals are always good for a few surprises, but a franchise tag for defensive end Trey Hendrickson would be a mild surprise to me,” Fowler wrote on Sunday. “The relationship has essentially run its course, and the tag will be well above $30 million. Perhaps they could swing a sign-and-trade, but losing him to free agency could equate to a third-round compensatory pick in return if Cincinnati plays it right.”

Hendrickson had back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons in 2023-24. That positioned Hendrickson for a big payday, which the Bengals did not give him. Hendrickson ultimately agreed to a restructured contract that kept him in Cincinnati for the 2025 season.

If Hendrickson does make it to the open market, he will have plenty of suitors. In fact, the Cowboys were named as one team that could take a run at Hendrickson this spring.

“The top free agent rusher will have plenty of suitors,” Fowler added. “Several teams in need of a pass rusher should look into him, including the Cowboys, Buccaneers and Colts.”

The Cowboys need some help at edge rusher after trading Micah Parsons before the 2025 season. Dallas should want to acquire Hendrickson via free agency, allowing them to use their draft picks on other positions.

Dallas will have a lot of work to do if they want to pursue Hendrickson in free agency.

The Cowboys are already $29.17 million over the 2026 salary cap. They will need to make several cuts or contract restructures just to get compliant with the salary cap. But even more work would need to be done to make space for Hendrickson.There’s also an impending George Pickens extension that makes matters even trickier for Dallas.

It will be exciting to see which teams end up pursuing Hendrickson during free agency this spring.

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