The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may already have a built-in advantage when it comes to arguably the NFL’s most sought-after free agent.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday that the Buccaneers have a distinct advantage when it comes to Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
“I think that he would love to be in Tampa,” Schefter said on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “I think he would love to be in Tampa. He lives in Ponte Verde. I don’t think the Jaguars have the requisite cap room for him. “Tampa would be a great fit. I think in a perfect world, Trey would like to stay in Florida. No state income tax. But, he’s also open to going to the best possible situation. If Trey has a pick, I think he’d like to end up (with the Bucs), but we will see if it works out that way.”
Hendrickson posted consecutive seasons with 17.5 sacks each in 2023 and 2024 — he led the NFL in sacks in 2024 on the way to earning NFL All-Pro honors. He’s also a 4-time Pro Bowler.
It’s not a leap to say getting a player like Hendrickson might turn the Buccaneers into serious NFC contenders.
Bad Blood Overshadowed Hendrickson’s Play
Hendrickson is coming off a career-worst year in 2025 in which he missed 10 games due to injuries and only had 4.0 sacks after a nasty, prolonged contract battle with the Cincinnati Bengals in the offseason.
He spent the last 2 years battling with the Bengals for a long-term extension and alternately asking to be traded. He finally signed a 1-year, $29 million contract on August 25 but was largely sidelined as the Bengals went 6-11 and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
With such a down year, Hendrickson’s asking price of $30 million per year may have gone down significantly.
Spotrac projects his value on the open market now is more in the realm of a 2-year, $50 million contract, which the Buccaneers would likely love to have him for.
From Bleacher Report: “Of course, a more reasonable contract makes Hendrickson much less of a risk than he might be on a market-level deal. He’s still a four-time Pro Bowler who recorded 17.5 sacks in both 2023 and 2024. If healthy, he should provide double-digit sacks in 2026. Expect Hendrickson to land a contract high on incentives and with a team option on the back end. He’ll likely draw the most interest from teams that expect to contend over the next couple of seasons.”
Buccaneers Missed Big at Edge Rusher in 2025
The Buccaneers took a big swing at edge rusher in free agency in 2025 when they signed 2-time NFL All-Pro Haason Reddick to a 1-year, $14 million contract — a deal that resulted in Reddick only registering 2.5 sacks.
That’s the type of return on investment that led the Buccaneers to an 8-9 finish and saw them miss the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019.
Getting Hendrickson might also help finally tap into the full potential of several young players on the defensive front, including 4th year edge rusher YaYa Diaby, 2023 1st round pick and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, and 2nd year edge rusher David Walker, who sat out his entire rookie year with a knee injury.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NFL Insider: All-Pro Edge Rusher Would ‘Love’ to Sign With Buccaneers appeared first on Heavy Sports.