The Buffalo Bills have been on the cusp of making their first trip to the Super Bowl in over 30 years with a talented roster led by reigning league MVP Josh Allen.
One recent trade pitch has the Bills acquiring a first-team member of the 2024 NFL All-Pro team to help Buffalo get over the hump in 2025.
ESPN Trade Pitch Sees Trey Hendrickson Joining the Buffalo Bills
Dan Graziano has been covering the NFL for ESPN as an insider since 2011, which makes his trade pitch between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals an interesting one to dissect.
Graziano pitched a deal between the two sides that would see disgruntled All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson join the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Graziano’s offer was explained on ESPN.com that reads, “The Bengals have made it clear they don’t want to give away Hendrickson, so I’m not even sure the Bills’ (likely late) second-rounder would be enough. But if the Bengals’ demands drop, I could see Buffalo pouncing to secure the veteran edge rusher it needs to take down Chiefs QBÂ Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs.”
The Bills had some issues getting pressure on Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes throughout the majority of the 2024 AFC Championship Game, where Buffalo came up just short of knocking off the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions with a 32-29 loss back in January.
This prompted the Bills to try to improve their pass rushing production in free agency this offseason, where they aggressively signed former Los Angeles Chargers EDGE Joey Bosa to a one-year deal.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, Bosa’s recent durability issues surfaced in the month of May after sustaining a calf injury during OTAs.
The article touched on the logic behind the deal because of Bosa’s injury that reads, “With offseason pickup Joey Bosa already injured, this move would help the Bills’ pass rush add a stronger, healthier option. Hendrickson might not get the new contract of his dreams, but perhaps Bills general manager Brandon Beane could sell him on an improved chance to get to the Super Bowl.”
What Kind of Impact Could Trey Hendrickson Have for the Buffalo Bills in 2025?
The addition of Joey Bosa could still pay off for the Bills in 2025, but when comparing his production directly to Trey Hendrickson’s over the past three seasons… it is easy to make a case that trading for the Bengals’ star defender could make this Buffalo defense an elite unit this year.
Bosa has produced just 14 sacks over the last three seasons. During that same span, Hendrickson has been dominant with 43 sacks — which trails on Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett during that span.
Hendrickson has notched exactly 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, which makes him one of the elite pass rushers in the league by any metric.
Pairing Hendrickson with Gregory Rousseau for 2025 feels like a definitive upgrade over the combo of Bosa and Rousseau.
The Bengals may not be willing to trade their All-Pro defender for any price considering Cincinnati has Super Bowl aspirations of their own, but if the organization decides to cut their losses if a deal can’t get done — then the Bills would certainly be one of the teams who have the most to gain by making this a trade like this happen.
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