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The Chicago Bears made some good draft picks and have done many things to improve their roster for the upcoming season. And head coach Ben Johnson is pumped to prove critics wrong. But the Bears need more ferocity at the edge rusher position, and here is their perfect Trey Hendrickson trade proposal to the Bengals.
Looking at Mike Clay’s individual projections for the 2025 season, the Bears come up lacking in the sack department. Montez Sweat is projected to lead with six, followed by Dayo Odeyingbo with five.
That’s not enough for a playoff contender. But Hendrickson would solve those issues. So, what would the Bears need to give up to get the Bengals’ weapon?
There has been talk of the Bears sending a second-round pick to the Bengals for Hendrickson. However, this is a guy who led the NFL in sacks with 17.5 last season. And he did it playing for a very weak defense overall.
Yes, he will be 31 in December. He may only have a couple more prime years left. But the deal is a “now” trade that would push the Bears into the serious playoff conversation.
The Bengals don’t want to part ways with Hendrickson. So they’re going to hold out for a first-round pick. But here’s how the Bears can make it more palatable.
They could offer their 2026 first-round pick, which figures to be a mid-round selection or later. They could also offer a fifth-round pick to the Bengals in 2027. This way, the Bears don’t miss on two picks in 2026. They figure to be prime contenders over the next two seasons with Hendrickson rushing the passer. And this would allow them to still chase plenty of talent in the 2026 NFL Draft.
One NFL insider thinks he won’t be traded anywhere, according to Up & Adams via cincyjungle.com.
“I do think something gets done (with the Bengals),” James Palmer said. “I think he ends up staying. (And) I think that’s the most likely type of thing that ends up happening. You don’t make the deals for Ja’Marr (Chase) and Tee Higgins. And you have the deal in place for Joe (Burrow). And you push for all of those contracts to be done to not be on a Super Bowl pursuit. You can’t win a Super Bowl without a star pass rusher.
“I just think it’s hard when you mentioned him getting moved when everyone’s already spent their money in free agency. They already went through the draft and filled some holes there as well. The amount of money that you probably have to have, because you’re not going to trade for (Hendrickson) and not sign him. It’s gonna be a difficult process… Deals like this don’t happen trade-wise at this point in the NFL calendar very often.”
Those are some valid points for Palmer. But the last one doesn’t hold any water. Just a...
