Stampede Blue
While it is still early to tell who will hit the open market in Free Agency, there are plenty of teams that need to focus on gaining cap space before the League New Year in March. 10 such teams are anywhere from $5.4 million over the cap to to $58.1 million over their allotted cap room. As such, they are the most likely teams to lose their upcoming Free Agents to the open market, as they need to focus their energy on cap manipulation (restructures, extensions on current contracts, cuts/trades) to even entertain retaining players.
Most of the Free Agents listed are from some of these teams in the red, others have openly expressed frustrations with the current management of their teams with their contract negotiations, and could be difficult to retain if relations have soured.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
Hendrickson reuniting with his longtime coordinator Lou Anarumo in Indianapolis would be an excellent fit. The Colts should pursue a trade signing with him to add to the pass rush and pair him with the young and growing Laiatu Latu.
There was earlier smoke with Hendrickson to the Colts trade rumors, as the Colts were interested and engaged the Bengals in trade talks while contract renegotiations broke down between them and their star pass rusher. However they wanted too much (premium draft capital and Grover Stewart) for Hendrickson who was on the last year of his deal and was 30 years old at the time (turned 31 in December).
Instead Hendrickson played out the final year of his deal without being traded, but his last year with the Bengals didn’t go to plan for him. He racked up 4 sacks and 21 pressures in the first 5 games before suffering what was initially diagnosed as a hip/pelvis injury in Week 6. He tried to play through it in Week 8 and reaggravated what was later diagnosed as a core muscle injury (hernia). Hendrickson ended the season with a core muscle surgery in December and being placed on IR. Thus the Bengals missed their opportunity to trade him once their season was fully derailed as he was injured leading up to the trade deadline and he wouldn’t have been able to pass the required physical at the time to be traded.
Assuming the Bengals don’t reach a new deal with Hendrickson, expect the Colts to be first in line in March to sign the pass rushing dynamo. Even with his age and his recent injury, the opportunity to sign a pass rusher of his caliber while having staff that can help lure him and be the perfect fit for him is rare.
Hendrickson was able to get $30 million in his final season with the Bengals, but per Spotrac his market value post injury has regressed to $25.4 million. If the Colts can nab Hendrickson at this lower cost, the move could provide a lot of value if he stays healthy. With...
