The Chicago Bears head into their bye at a relatively perfect time and should use the week off to consider how to revamp the roster ahead of next month’s trade deadline.
Chicago is battling a considerable number of injuries to some of its most important players — including cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, right tackle Darnell Wright and rookie tight end (and No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft) Colston Loveland, and that’s just to name a handful.
However, one place the Bears aren’t too badly banged up is at edge rusher. They just don’t have much playmaking there, which has already proven a problem and is likely to become a bigger one as the season rolls along.
“Edge rusher stands out as the Bears’ biggest need, in my eyes,” Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron wrote Saturday, October 4. “As of this writing, they have only five sacks in four games. Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, who are receiving a combined average of $40.5 million on their two deals, have one sack each. Per PFF, they don’t have any players in the top 45 in the NFL in pressures through four games. There’s a chance Austin Booker helps boost the pass rush upon his return from injury, but that’s asking a lot out of an unproven backup at this point.”
Infante wasn’t the only member of the WCG authors group who identified the pass rush as the team’s greatest deficiency. The only real answer at this point is a trade, and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals is shaping up to be the best candidate.
Trey Hendrickson More Tradable as Bengals’ Struggles Grow
GettyCincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
Hendrickson fought with his current team all offseason long about a contract extension, though the two sides eventually compromised on an $8 million raise in 2025, which bumped his salary up to $29 million this year and keeps unrestricted free agency on the table next March.
The Bengals eventually took some calls on Hendrickson over the summer, but word around the league was that the asking price was far too high. Also, Cincinnati had major incentive to hold onto Hendrickson when it looked like the offense had a chance to be among the best in the NFL.
The defense was always going to be a mess, but the four-time consecutive Pro Bowler who tallied 17.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons (leading the league in that category in 2024) was a key piece in Cincinnati’s attempt to mitigate its defensive roster deficiencies this year.
But things now look bleak for the Bengals after quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a toe injury that required surgery and could keep him out for months. Cincinnati is 2-2 but has scored just 13 points in its past two games and faces the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers in Weeks 5 and 6, respectively.
The season could get away from the Bengals quickly if the quarterback play doesn’t improve, at which point the team becomes incentivized to deal Hendrickson and get a solid draft asset in return before he walks for nothing next spring.
Trading for Trey Hendrickson, Signing Him Longterm Represents Moderate Risk for Bears
GettyEdge rusher Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Chicago may not have been interested in paying a first-round price for an edge rusher who turns 31 years old in December and is looking for a three- or four-year contract at a huge annual number. But should that price drop to, say, a third-rounder in the coming weeks that might change the Bears‘ position.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report suggested on September 29 that Hendrickson currently has the value of a conditional second-rounder, and the need around the league at such a premium position could keep Hendrickson’s value that high up until the November 4 trade deadline.
However, no team is giving up that strong of a draft asset unless it wants to pay Hendrickson on a new contract. Chicago could use his services over the next few seasons and currently has roughly $15 million in salary cap space in 2026, a number the organization could increase if necessary.
Absorbing such a big deal in 2025 and adding much more money over several seasons to an edge rusher on the wrong side of 30 isn’t ideal, but Hendrickson meets what many analysts believe is the Bears‘ greatest current roster need and is off to a decent start in 2025 with 19 QB pressures, 12 hurries, five hits and two sacks through four games.
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