People around the NFL have suspicions on how Ravens created a path to land former Bengals star Trey Hendrickson
Baltimore has caught the league’s attention after agreeing to terms with Trey Hendrickson.
Expectation turned into reality Wednesday morning when former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson agreed to sign with the Baltimore Ravens.
Hendrickson is set to sign a four-year, $112 million contract featuring $60 million guaranteed. The maximum value of the deal is $120 million.
Hendrickson, a four-time Pro Bowler who recorded 64.5 sacks in 79 regular season and playoff games for the Bengals, had been pushing for a deal with multiple years of guaranteed money for the past several years and finally got his wish from a potential playoff contender in the Ravens, but his contract is far from the juiciest part of the overall story.
Ravens believed to have gotten “cold feet” about Maxx Crosby
The reason Hendrickson is on his way to Baltimore is because the Ravens backed out of their deal to send two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for five-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby. The trade was agreed to last Friday, and Baltimore officially backed out of the deal Tuesday night.
Crosby did not pass his physical from the Ravens, and that’s the given reason as to why the deal was nullified. The 28-year old recently had surgery to repair his torn meniscus.
The injury and surgery, however, were not secrets around the NFL. Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the general feeling around the league is Baltimore was aware of Crosby’s medical outlook and “ultimately got cold feet” in trading for him.
Had the trade been processed, the odds of Baltimore dropping a bag for Hendrickson would’ve been microscopic. It was already an unprecedented move for the franchise to trade to not just one, but two first-rounders to acquire a player like Crosby. Spending another $28 million per year on another pass rusher wasn’t in the cards.
That Hendrickson’s deal came together mere hours after the trade was canceled also adds fuel to the fire here. If Hendrickson wasn’t still available after the first day of the negotiating window, there would’ve been no other obvious target for the Ravens to go after. The 31-year old was far and away the best available free agent DE entering Wednesday morning.
Cincinnati has moved on from Hendrickson by agreeing to terms with DE Boye Mafe, but it won’t be long before its former star pass rusher faces them in the division. Whether or not Baltimore conducted shady business to make it happen, that’s what the Bengals have in store for them once (if) Hendrickson signs on the dotted line.
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