Saints Must Pounce After Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson Decision

The New Orleans Saints should absolutely look to reunite.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates a sack in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints' pass rush will be an area of the franchise to watch over the next few weeks.

The reason for this is because both Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis are currently scheduled to hit the open market in free agency. The Saints have good building block pieces in Chase Young and Carl Granderson, but need some more firepower. Retaining Jordan and Davis should be a priority. Even if the Saints do keep them around, it wouldn't hurt to add another big-time piece. An old friend would fit that description.

Trey Hendrickson spent the first four seasons of his career in New Orleans before going over and joining the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the 2021 season. Hendrickson was very good in New Orleans but developed into a superstar over in Cincinnati. He earned all four of his Pro Bowl nods in Cincinnati and racked up 35 sacks across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. On Tuesday, the franchise tag deadline came and went and the Bengals did not place a tag on him, which means he will be an unrestricted free agent when the market opens on March 9.

The Saints should reunite

Sep 14, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates the win after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Hendrickson already took to social media to say thank you and good bye to Cincinnati.

After not being tagged today, Trey Hendrickson bid goodbye to Cincinnati on IG: pic.twitter.com/xVXSwCHeTS

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2026

New Orleans has the No. 8 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The team arguably should use it to bring in an offensive playmaker, like running back Jeremiyah Love or wide receivers Carnell Tate or Makai Lemon.

If the Saints were to bring back Hendrickson and then add a playmaker early in the draft, that arguably would be enough to take the Saints to a higher level than they were at when the 2025 season came to an end.

New Orleans' salary cap situation is significantly better than it was at this time last year. Imagine a duo of Hendrickson and Young? Plus, imagine if then you had Jordan and Davis as well? The Saints' defense already was good in 2025. It would be elite if the team could bring Hendrickson back.