Trey Hendrickson Predicted to Leave Bengals for AFC Contender

The Bengals will almost certainly lose Trey Hendrickson this offseason, but where will he go?

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) watches a replay as the Detroit Lions celebrate a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 5 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. The Bengals continued a losing streak, falling 37-24 to the Lions. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Bengals are a very intriguing team to follow this offseason and a lot of the buzz around the team revolves around superstar edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

Hendrickson is one of the best pass rushers in the league and he's headed to free agency this offseason. Most analysts believe Hendrickson is the best free agent this year, but there's a lot of discrepancy about the kind of contract he will sign.

At this point, it seems like he's going to leave the Bengals, and most Cincinnati fans understand this. There's a chance the Bengals could franchise tag him and trade him, but it's unclear what kind of market would develop in that scenario. As a result, the most common prediction is that Hendrickson will choose a new team as a traditional free agent.

Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr recently made a list of bold predictions for every NFL team this offseason. Orr predicted the Indianapolis Colts would swoop in and sign Hendrickson away from the Bengals over the coming months.

Trey Hendrickson Would Fit With Colts, But Will He Pick Them?

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) is double-teamed by Green Bay Packers center Elgton Jenkins (74) and guard Aaron Banks (65) during the second quarter of their game Sunday, October 12, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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"The Colts will sign Trey Hendrickson," Orr predicted. "In a move that will help bolster a team that was middle of the road in both run defense and quarterback pressure percentage, relocating Hendrickson just an hour west and bringing him back together with Lou Anarumo is a critical piece of Indianapolis’s sweeping offseason strategy."

Every team in the league makes sense as a fit for Hendrickson. He would start on every team in football, and he'd make any team better.

But every team might not make sense to him.

At this stage of his career, it seems like Hendrickson wants to get paid and win. At the very least, he wants to do one of the two. The Bengals didn't seem to want to offer him either of the things and the Colts might not be able to either.

Indianapolis only has $34 million in cap space, per Spotrac. They could look to clear some cap space, but it still might not be enough to comfortably afford a $30 million deal with Hendrickson. And without a healthy Daniel Jones, the Colts cannot be considered a true contender.

As a result, their offer to Hendrickson would likely be underwhelming and they couldn't promise much success. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Bengals star pass on a reunion with Anarumo. It's worth noting that the Bengals do play the Colts in Indianapolis this season.

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