Saints Writer Advocates For Trade To Bring 4x Pro Bowler Back To New Orleans

How could New Orleans bring back this star edge-rusher?

Nov 5, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the New Orleans Saints helmet and ball bag against the Chicago Bears during the first half at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints sure could use a star edge-rusher these days.

For the first four seasons of his career, the Saints had the NFL's defending sacks leader--Trey Hendrickson, now of the Cincinnati Bengals. The only problem is that Hendrickson left New Orleans and immediately ran off a streak of four straight Pro Bowls after never making one for the Saints.

Now, Hendrickson is a bona-fide star, and the issue is that the Bengals don't particularly want to pay him like one. The 30-year-old has been a standoff with the team all spring and summer, with only one year and $21 million remaining on his current deal.

Hendrickson mock trades have been the talk of the town all offseason, but nothing has come to fruition. Could that change, and could the Saints somehow get involved?

John Sigler of Saints Wire believes it's something New Orleans should look into if Cincinnati is willing to consider trade offers after a summer of failed negotiations.

"Looking into a reunion with Hendrickson to close out his career in black and gold wouldn't be the worst thing, and the Saints do have the salary cap space to get it done (about $23.2 million right now)," Sigler wrote on Wednesday.

"You just have to ask if it's worth doing without a viable quarterback under center. At the same time, the best way to support an inexperienced quarterback running a new offense is with an effective defense putting him in good field position. If the Saints can make the money work, cutting a deal to bring Hendrickson back home could make a huge difference for them."

While the Saints might not be a Hendrickson away from making the playoffs in 2025, it's hard to knock the idea of trading for him altogether until one knows what the price tag would be. And Sigler points out that Hendrickson racked up more sacks (17.5) than all the projected pass-rushers on the Saints roster combined last season.

So while we can file a Saints-Hendrickson reunion under the "probably not" column, it wouldn't be the shock of the century if it somehow happened.

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