Trey Hendrickson Officially Leaves Cincinnati, Here's What it Means for Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are losing Trey Hendrickson in free agency to the Baltimore Ravens.

Per multiple reports, Hendrickson is signing a four-year, $112 million contract with the Bengals' AFC North rivals. The deal could be worth up to $120 million with incentives.

The move comes about 12 hours after the Ravens backed out of their trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire Maxx Crosby.

Cincinnati had the chance to sign Hendrickson to a long-term extension in each of the prior two offseasons, but that never came to fruition, and they chose not to franchise tag him in search of a trade by last week's deadline.

The 31-year-old was a key part of Cincinnati's two trips to the AFC Championship game this decade, and he was a stalwart health pillar for much of his time until this past season, when he played in just seven games due to injury (four sacks and 11 tackles).

Here is Trey Hendrickson's sack roster, including the postseason:
Where will Joe Burrow end up on the list? pic.twitter.com/j0ohQhFjCL
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) March 11, 2026

Before that, Hendrickson was voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons with the Bengals. He signed with Cincinnati as an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and posted 57.0 sacks between then and the 2025 season (the third-most in the NFL). His 17.5 sacks in both the 2023 and '24 campaigns are tied for the second-most in a season in Bengals history behind Coy Bacon's 22 mark pulled off in 1976.

Ex-Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson Will Return to Paycor Stadium in 2026

The signing means Hendrickson will return to Paycor Stadium to face the Bengals. The NFL schedule will be released in mid-May.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin dove into the saga at the 2026 NFL Combine.

"I don't throw anything off on or off the table with Trey, and we're excited about attacking this offseason," Tobin said at the event. "We have resources to attack the offseason in a big way, and we want to do that in terms of how we're going to do that, how we're going to allocate our resources. You know, who is going to be on our own free agents, what are our intentions there? I'm not going to get into that right here. It's just not the time to announce that to the rest of the league."

Cincinnati will have a new top sack leader this fall. The Bengals desperately need to address their pass rush this offseason. That started with free agency and signing former Seahawk Boye Mafe. They also have the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Bengals will have to use their cap space and their draft resources to find a way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks if they want to get back into Super Bowl contention this season.

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