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The Patriots’ attempts to spend their way to a competitive NFL roster in 2024 have mostly fallen flat, with the team still sitting on $50 million in cap space and having brought in only tertiary additions to a team that went 4-13 last year. Granted, the club is shaping up to be better than in 2023, but even an improvement to eight wins might be a stretch as things stand.
That could change after the NFL draft, though, in which the Patriots have the No. 3 overall pick and figure to beef up a moribund offense. More than that, though, they still have the possibility of pulling off trades for disgruntled players, a pretty effective way of using cap space when straight free agency does not work out.
There are disgruntled stars on the market, especially at a position of Patriots need—wide receiver—with the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk and the Bengals’ Tee Higgins having already registered their displeasure with their current situations. But a late addition to the trade-rumor market has been Higgins’ teammate, pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson, and the Patriots make some sense as a landing spot.
Trey Hendrickson Set to Make $15 Million This Season
That’s the notion from USA Today on Thursday, with the Patriots tabbed a potential landing spot for Hendrickson. He is 29 years old and very much in his prime still—he had a career-high 17.5 sacks last year and has been a Pro Bowler for three straight years.
But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that Hendrickson is not happy with his current deal and wants out.
“Bengals three-time Pro-Bowl DE Trey Hendrickson has requested to be traded from Cincinnati, per league source. Hendrickson is due to make $15 million this season, and is looking for more long-term security than Cincinnati has been willing to offer,” Schefter said.
According to Spotrac, Hendrickson is signed for $14.8 million this year and $15.8 million next year. He has a dead cap hit of just $2.7 million next season. He signed a four-year, $60 million contract to join the Bengals in 2021.
For USA Today, any Patriots talent upgrade is a good idea, even if it is not a wide receiver at play.
“The Patriots are clearly in rebuild mode and might not be the most obvious choice to trade for a veteran pass-rusher. However, they lead the league in cap space right now with more than $50 million available to spend.
“It’s not hard imagining New England wanting Hendrickson as a tone-setter on the field and in the locker room and making a move like this. They’re probably not the favorites, but they’ve got more dollars for a contract extension than any other team in the NFL.”
Patriots Could Trade Matthew Judon
Of course, that could change if the Patriots take some action on their own veteran pass-rusher, Matthew Judon. There has been speculation around New England that the team might look to move off of Judon, who was coming off his best NFL season, with 15.5 sacks in 2022, before he was injured four games into the 2023 season.
At 32, Judon is a bit out of the Patriots’ rebuilding timeline. Flipping Judon and adding Hendrickson could be an ideal way for New England to upgrade and get slightly younger at the same time.
It does remain a longshot, though. Perhaps Hendrickson is merely engaging in an elaborate negotiating play to get a long-term deal from Cincinnati. He might well have no intention of leaving the Bengals.
In the time after Schefter’s report, there was considerable reported blowback from team sources about the Bengals’ unwillingness to trade Hendrickson, which has been the same position the team has taken on Higgins.
From Paul Dehner of The Athletic, on Twitter/X, “I can also confirm the #Bengals have zero interest in dealing him and don’t intend to do so. Just as with Tee Higgins, they are trying to win the Super Bowl this year, not deal stars.”
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