The Baltimore Ravens have been the talk of the town this NFL offseason, but maybe not for the best reason. They backed out of their trade with the Las Vegas Raiders and sent Maxx Crosby back to Sin City, and then pivoted to signing former rival Trey Hendrickson to a massive contract instead.
It was a huge move for the Ravens and now, all eyes are on Hendrickson to perform like the dominant edge rusher he was signed to be. Unfortunately, not everyone is convinced that Hendrickson will pan out in Baltimore.
Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated recently wrote about five players who signed new deals this offseason, who are most likely to be busts. Hendrickson was number four on that list.
"All the noise aside, this is a risky deal. Hendrickson, 31, is aging and last year was limited to seven games due to a hip injury. The former Saints and Bengals star notched only four sacks after registering 17.5 sacks in each of the prior two years. Now on the other side of 30, Hendrickson will need to continue his high-level play from 2023 and ’24 to make this contract worthwhile for Baltimore."
"If Crosby, 29, ends up out-performing Hendrickson by a wide margin over the next few seasons, there will be plenty of regret for the Ravens, and plenty of quiet fist pumps from 31 other buildings."
Baltimore Ravens hope to avoid Trey Hendrickson bust
Fair points here from Verderame. Ravens fans won't want to admit it, but this is a risky deal for Baltimore. As Verderame stated, Hendrickson is coming off a hip injury that sidelined him for most of the 2025 season, and he's over 30.
The drama surrounding signing him will also factor in if Hendrickson doesn't play well, and that's going to be a headache for everyone involved. The hope is that Hendrickson is the same player he was in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024, when he had double-digit sacks for the Saints (in 2020) and Bengals.
When healthy, there aren't many pass-rushers who are more dangerous than Hendrickson, and that's what the Ravens are banking on here. They need help getting to the quarterback, and if Hendrickson can help them do that, then all of this drama will have been worth it.
If he struggles either to get back to his previous level of production and/or to stay healthy, however, then, man... There will be a lot of egg on faces, and deservedly so.