The Las Vegas Raiders already have one of the most fearsome pass rushing weapons in the NFL in the form of Maxx Crosby. Now, it appears they want to add another.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Raiders are the front-runners to land wantaway Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson.
Hendrickson has been locked in a contract dispute with the Bengals and has put forth a trade request.
While putting in a trade request is a common move from players who want to get a better deal for themselves, it appears the Bengals are strongly considering moving on from Hendrickson and are putting out the feelers to see what they could get for him.
Now, it appears that the Raiders are strongly considering making a move for him – putting him on the opposite side of Crosby to form one of the scariest pass rushes in the NFL.
It’d mean that the three star quarterbacks in the AFC West – Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix – might all lose some more sleep the night before games; especially considering Hendrickson and Crosby combined for 57 sacks in the last two seasons.
The Raiders have emerged as the front runners to land Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson
If they pull off that move, Hendrickson would be a nightmare for the division rival Chiefs
An anonymous NFL executive told SI’s Hondo Carpenter, ‘I have no doubt the Raiders are the frontrunners. Tom Brady and Mark Davis want to win now, and [Raiders GM] John (Spytek) has no fear when it comes to making bold moves.
‘The kid (Hendrickson is 30), that move is the mentality of Pete Carroll; he’s not afraid of anything that could improve the team.’
As for a potential cost, that same executive suggested the Bengals would want ‘either multiple picks or a combination of a pick and a player.’
The executive added, ‘They aren’t particularly focused on one side of the ball, but their offense is exceptional, while their defense is (excrement). I would speculate that a player and a third-round pick would be sufficient to land him.’
The Raiders would likely not want to give up that kind of capital to land a rental – with Hendrickson’s contract set to expire at the end of the year.
However, landing Hendrickson will likely force the Raiders to come up with a deal for the 30-year-old who led the NFL in sacks last season with 17.5.
The Raiders have $35m in cap space and Hendrickson will likely want to earn a contract netting him at least $35m a year, which just so happens to be the same AAV as Crosby.
So with that said, there’s a big question as to if the Raiders truly want to make this move.
Adding Hendrickson alongside another star pass rusher in Maxx Crosby would be frightening to quarterbacks in the AFC West – including Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert
Raiders ownership, including Tom Brady, want to win now and believe Hendrickson would help
There are other areas of major need that they should address before bulking up their already strong pass rush.
The defensive secondary is a massive area of improvement – with 2024 starting corners Jack Jones and Darnay Holmes and starting safeties Tre’von Moehring and Isaiah Pola-Mao all combining for just five interceptions.
Jones snagged three of those picks and then left for the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Moehring had the other two and is now a Carolina Panther.
But the pass rush is not nearly as fearsome as many hoped now that Christian Wilkins is no longer a part of the team.
The defensive tackle misses a majority of last season to repair a fracture in his foot and was then cut by the team in the offseason – leading to Wilkins filing a grievance with the NFLPA.
It was later revealed that he was cut stemming from an issue where Wilkins kissed a teammate’s forehead – a move described as a ‘playful’ gesture that was not received well.
The Raiders have one final preseason game on the road against the Arizona Cardinals this Saturday before opening their season with a trip to Massachusetts to take on Brady’s former team, the New England Patriots.
