The Dallas Cowboys have been linked in NFL trade rumors to Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson again. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was the one to provide the link on Wednesday morning.
Up to this point, the Bengals have rebuffed trade inquiries, and sources have maintained that Cincinnati has no plans to trade Hendrickson right now. The Cowboys and 49ers are among the interested teams, though San Francisco made a move for a pass rusher Tuesday night.
It was Fowler who connected Dallas to Hendrickson a week ago when rumors were flying a bit more heavily around the Cowboys. He noted then that Dallas held interest in Hendrickson just one day after it was reported that the Cowboys had eyes for Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby.
These two hypothetical trades involve a different type of commitment from the Cowboys. Crosby is under team control through the 2029 season for all intents and purposes. Hendrickson is in the final year of his current deal. It was one that the Bengals re-worked in the 11th hour before the season began; he initially held out while seeking a proper payday after leading the league in sacks last season.
Last week’s Cowboys loss to the Denver Broncos puts the team in a bind as to whether they are buyers are sellers. We offered an opinion after the game here at BTB that making an impact move for this season specifically would be unwise. Hendrickson would be that type of move given his contract situation.
Given his situation, Hendrickson would obviously cost less and in that sense may seem more enticing. Crosby is the better player, is under team control, and therefore would require a significantly larger investment from Dallas in a hypothetical trade. While the help in 2025 may ultimately be in vain from an overall team perspective, his general situation is one that could line up nicely with this team’s future window. In other words a Crosby trade would help the present and the future in a way that Hendrickson probably wouldn’t.
Last year the Cowboys made a move for Jonathan Mingo right at the deadline, and with all due respect to the player, it felt like the biggest of possible panic moves that the front office could make. He has yet to seriously help the team although they did acquire a team with multiple years of team control to their credit.
Trading for Hendrickson would suggest that the Cowboys are going all-in (sorry, but the wording makes sense here) on the 2025 season which could be unwise. The trade deadline is next Tuesday, November 4th.
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