Proposed Bills trade package would land Trey Hendrickson for a player and draft pick

With the Buffalo Bills all in on the 2025 season, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the team make a play for Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

Hendrickson and the Bengals remain at a standstill in contract talks and that has led to trade rumors heating up recently.

In the wake of that, Nick Shook of NFL.com proposes a Bills trade with the Bengals that would land Hendrickson. Here's what the suggested package looks like and what Shook had to say:

Bills get: DE Trey Hendrickson

Bengals get: DE Joey Bosa, 2026 first-round pick

"Have you watched Hard Knocks yet? Have you felt the pressure that is weighing on Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott to finally get over the Kansas City-sized hump and reach the Super Bowl?" Shook asked. "Buffalo is undoubtedly feeling it, and while the flier it took on suggests it's attacking this season as aggressively as possible, swinging a deal for Hendrickson would turn that dial to 11.

"Buffalo also doesn't have cap space to work with but we know two truths: First, Beane could structure an extension for Hendrickson to make it fit, and secondly, the cap is somewhat of a myth," he adds. "Send Bosa -- not a young player, but a player who would soften the blow of losing Hendrickson -- and a first-rounder to Cincinnati for Hendrickson and push the throttle to its limit in 2025."

According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Paul Dehner Jr., the Bengals are looking for a young defensive player and a 2026 first-round pick in exchange for the 2024 sacks leader.

Cincinnati Bengals Trey Hendrickson speaks at a press conference after practice, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at Kettering Health Practice Fields in Downtown Cincinnati. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Shook's package doesn't check the box when it comes to a young player, Bosa would be able to make an immediate impact for a win-now Bengals team and can help fill the void left by Hendrickson's departure.

The Bills could also float a package that includes A.J. Epenesa instead if Cincinnati wants a younger edge rusher.

Adding an elite defender like Hendrickson, who has more sacks than any other edge rusher since 2023, would be a game-changer for Buffalo and would instantly improve their chances of winning a Super Bowl.

The biggest roadblock for a Bills trade for Hendrickson is money. Hendrickson will have to be extended on a hefty contract, and while that will help the Bills fit him in for 2025, the team is projected to be over the cap by $9.4 million in 2026.

Adding Hendrickson to the future books will make it very difficult for Buffalo to improve the rest of its roster in the next few years, and that would be especially disastrous if Hendrickson begins declining (he turns 31 in December).

But the Bills are in a "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it" kind of situation with the team in win-now mode. Hendrickson would offer a massive boost for Buffalo in 2025, so general manager Brandon Beane should throw caution to the wind.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) talks with director of player personnel Duke Tobin before the first quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 2 game between the Washington Commanders and the Cincinnati Bengals at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —

More Buffalo Bills News:

Bills' horseback-riding DT and silent All-Pro LB are perfect for 'Hard Knocks'

Bears expose Bills' troubling defensive weakness in primetime preseason debacle

Josh Allen loses turnover battle to shaky Caleb Williams in Bears-Bills practice

Bills re-sign 'really good person, player' two days after releasing him

Former Bills' All-Pro jestfully kicks Dolphins while they're down