Should Cardinals Trade For Star Pass Rusher?

The Arizona Cardinals desperately need help along the defensive line, and the time is ripe to swing for an impact player, rather than simply continuing to build depth, as GM Monti Ossenfort has done the past pair of seasons.

That floor-raising philosophy is beneficial for teams looking to rebuild, or looking to shake the top-heaviness that can occur without sufficient reserves and rotational players.

But now, with free agency looming and players entering the trade market, it's time for the Cardinals to strike.

The Cardinals have reportedly already inquired about Cincinnati Bengals' star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, according to PHNX Cardinals' Johnny Venerable.

But would he be worth it for the Cardinals?

Simply put, Hendrickson is an unmitigated force off the edge, he's racked up a seemingly-impossible 17.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons, and hasn't missed a single game since 2022.

He didn't just bring the quarterback down, either. Hendrickson collected an astoudning 83 pressures over 823 snaps. That's over a 10% pressure rate per snap.

For context, the Cardinals' leading sack-producer — OLB Zaven Collins — recorded 31 pressures over 600 snaps, with only five sacks.

Pro Football Focus awarded Hendrickson an 88.1 overall grade. As a pass rusher alone, that number jumps to 90.4, fifth among all edge rushers in the NFL. And although he profiles more as a pure pass rusher, he still put up an above-average 65.9 grade in run defense in 2024.

He's made four straight Pro Bowls, was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024, and was selected to the NFL All-Pro First Team. Hendrickson, though somewhat underrated by the national media, is a true star at the edge position, and he'd immediately become the far and away leader of that group in Arizona.

Now, there are some concerns about the big DE. He'll be entering his age-31 season in 2025, and the NFL life expectancy of a physical member of the defensive front isn't exactly high, though that generally applies to players of a lower tier than Hendrickson.

Then there's the cost. Insider Mike Garafolo has said that the Bengals would likely for a day two pick to get the deal done. That's certainly a doable price, but Ossenfort has built a reputation of placing a higher value on draft capital.

It makes sense for the Cardinals to build through their draft assets. Most of their contributing players at this point in the rebuild were home-grown, or brought over from head coach Jonathan Gannon's former team in Philadelphia.

However, it's possible that Ossenfort would rather keep that draft capital for the purpose of picking new contributors to this Cardinals team.

Additionally, Hendrickson could also command a $30 million per year salary, something that might make it difficult to acquire more quality players.

Of course, the Cardinals do have plenty of cap space, it's simply a matter of whether they would rather spread it around more than dump that much into one player.

But ultimately, while there are factors to consider that might deter Ossenfort, a bona fide star of this caliber doesn't become available often, and Arizona is in a position where they need to begin hunting for players of that level.

Even if it's a high price, Hendrickson has proven he would be worth it.