Trey Hendrickson: Career Stats, Ravens Contract and Free Agency Story

Trey Hendrickson: 81 Sacks, $112 Million, and a Fresh Start in Baltimore

From Third-Round Pick to the NFL’s Best Pass Rusher

Trey Hendrickson was born December 5, 1994, in Orlando, Florida. His father, Collie Hendrickson, played college football at Missouri Southern State, so the game was always in the house. Trey went to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, studied criminal justice, and played four years for the Owls before entering the 2017 NFL Draft.

Most scouts had him pegged as a third or fourth-round pick. The New Orleans Saints took him 103rd overall, in the third round. His first contract paid $3.17 million over four years, standard for where he was selected. Nobody was writing feature stories about him yet.

He spent his first three seasons mostly watching Cameron Jordan work. He appeared in five games in 2018, recorded just eight tackles all year, and had no real role in the offense’s defensive scheme. He was 24 years old and still looking for a foothold in the league.

The 2019 season gave him 4.5 sacks. Still not the kind of number that makes GMs call. But in 2020, playing opposite Jordan, he finished with 13.5 sacks, two against Tom Brady in a 38-3 blowout of the Buccaneers, and two against Patrick Mahomes in a Week 15 loss to Kansas City that included a strip sack. The league noticed. He was voted to the PFWA All-NFL team and ranked 73rd by his fellow players in the NFL Top 100 ahead of 2021.

He was 26 and had played his best football as a backup on a team already built around someone else. That detail matters for understanding the contract debates that came later.

Cincinnati and the Making of an Elite Pass Rusher

On March 19, 2021, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $60 million deal. They needed an edge rusher. He needed a starting role. It worked immediately.

His first season in Cincinnati produced 14 sacks, breaking the Bengals’ franchise record for sacks in a single season. He recorded sacks in nine consecutive games at one stretch. He had a strip sack of Derek Carr in the Wild Card win over the Raiders, then another sack in the AFC Championship Game against Kansas City. The Bengals reached Super Bowl LVI. Hendrickson recorded a sack there too, though Cincinnati lost 23-20 to the Rams. He made his first Pro Bowl.

Over the next three seasons with the Bengals, he made three more Pro Bowls, going four consecutive from 2021 through 2024. He was named an All-Pro in 2024 after leading the entire NFL in sacks that season. He won the Deacon Jones Award. His 2023 and 2024 sack totals were identical: 17.5 each year, both setting new Bengals franchise records, each eclipsing the one he set the year before. In 2024, he also reached a career-best 83 total quarterback pressures and 36 QB hits, showing those sack numbers weren’t lucky — they were backed by consistent pressure volume.

Since 2021, he ranked second in the NFL in pressure rate at 13.2 percent and fourth in total sacks with 61. The only players generating pressure at a higher rate were among the handful of names anyone would mention when discussing the league’s elite edge rushers.

In 2025, a hip and pelvis injury ended his season after seven games. He had four sacks in that span, which extrapolates fine over a full year, but the injury raised concerns. The Bengals placed him on injured reserve in December. He underwent core muscle surgery shortly after. Recovery timeline was estimated at six weeks.

The Contract Fight That Defined His Exit From Cincinnati

The 2025 holdout didn’t come out of nowhere. Heading into that season, Hendrickson was entering the final year of his Bengals deal and wanted a new contract. The Bengals offered an extension, but the key sticking point was guaranteed money — specifically, that Cincinnati wouldn’t guarantee anything beyond the first year of the proposed extension. For a player coming off back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons, that was a non-starter.

He reported to training camp but ran a hold-in, showing up without participating in practice or on-field drills. It lasted until August 25, when the two sides agreed to a restructure that raised his 2025 salary to $30 million. No long-term extension. Just a bridge to free agency.

The Bengals’ director of player personnel, Duke Tobin, told Sirius XM NFL Radio that he wouldn’t rule out Hendrickson returning. “He’s a good football player,” Tobin said. But the franchise tag deadline came and went on March 3, 2026. Cincinnati didn’t use it. Hendrickson became an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.

The Maxx Crosby Trade, the Failed Physical, and How Baltimore Ended Up With Hendrickson

The Baltimore Ravens had a problem going into 2026 free agency. Their pass rush in 2025 was one of the worst in the league — 30 sacks total, tied for third-fewest in the NFL. No edge rusher hit five sacks. Defensive tackle Travis Jones led the entire team with five. A new head coach, Jesse Minter, had been hired to overhaul the defense, and he needed a genuine pass rusher to work with.

Baltimore’s first move was an attempted blockbuster: a trade for Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, reportedly involving multiple first-round draft picks. The deal was announced. Then Crosby failed his physical. The Ravens had medical concerns that came up during the examination, and within hours, the trade was dead.

What happened next was fast. The Ravens already had Hendrickson on their radar — GM Eric DeCosta had actually first noticed him at the East-West Shrine Game practices nine years earlier. “This guy was flying around, and that left an impression on me that week,” DeCosta said at Hendrickson’s introductory press conference. Baltimore pivoted from Crosby to Hendrickson without missing a beat.

On March 11, 2026, the Ravens signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal with $60 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus. The max value with incentives reaches $120 million, with the upside tied to sack production. His average annual value of $28 million ranks 11th among edge rushers — not the top of the market, but firmly in the range for players producing at his level.

Hendrickson later said he had actually expected to end up playing alongside Crosby in Baltimore. “At some point, you know that this was going to be something that was a tremendous opportunity to rush on a great defense,” he said. He also noted that the Ravens weren’t the only team in the conversation. The Buccaneers were serious — Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht publicly confirmed the team was in on Hendrickson, and missing out led directly to their decision to draft Rueben Bain Jr. The Bills and Eagles were also involved.

What He Actually Brings to Baltimore’s Defense

The number Minter reached for first when describing his new pass rusher: 26.5. That’s Hendrickson’s fourth-quarter sack total since 2021, second in the entire NFL. “When we talk about being able to have a closer mentality and finish games and dominate in the fourth quarter, Trey is the epitome of that,” Minter said.

That framing matters because Baltimore had blown an NFL-worst 16 leads in the final five minutes of games over the five seasons prior to 2026. A dominant pass rusher who gets better late in games addresses that problem more directly than any schematic adjustment.

Hendrickson’s career totals through nine seasons: 81 sacks, 236 tackles, 163 quarterback hits, 74 tackles for loss, 16 pass deflections, 15 forced fumbles. The sack number alone would have ranked him among the franchise’s best pass rushers in most eras of Ravens history. Minter noted that Baltimore hasn’t had a pass rusher of this caliber since Terrell Suggs left the franchise.

The scheme fit is real. Minter ran defenses that ranked in the top 11 in total defense and points allowed in both 2024 and 2025 with the Chargers. His units are aggressive on passing downs and built around creating one-on-one opportunities for edge rushers. Hendrickson lining up alongside Justin Madubuike on the interior is the kind of pairing that makes offensive coordinators game-plan around it.

The honest caveat: he’s not a strong run defender. He’s always been primarily a pass rusher, and stopping the run has never been where he earns his money. In a Minter defense that doesn’t want to load the box with extra bodies to stop the run, that limitation will need to be managed — probably by ensuring his teammates handle run fits while he’s used more selectively against the run.

DeCosta pushed back on the age concern directly. “I think one of the things about Trey is, he impacted the games when he was in New Orleans, but it took him a while to get going,” he said. “He’s got fresh legs.” At 31, Hendrickson will be 35 by the time the contract ends — the final year carries genuine risk. But the structure, with $60 million guaranteed covering 2026 and 2027, reflects the Ravens’ actual confidence window. After that, the team has flexibility.

Hendrickson’s own explanation for why he plays better late in games is worth paying attention to. “I think winning on defense and getting the ball back to your quarterback is something that I’m motivated to do,” he said. That’s not a cliché. It’s a pass rusher describing intrinsic motivation to finish — which is exactly the trait Baltimore was looking for after losing so many games in the fourth quarter.

Career Stats by Season

The table below covers his full regular-season sack totals by year, which is the quickest way to see the arc of his career — from quiet reserve to one of the most productive pass rushers in the league.

Career totals: 117 games, 81 sacks, four Pro Bowls, one All-Pro selection (2024), one Deacon Jones Award (2024).

Personal Background

Hendrickson grew up in Orlando. His father played college ball, which likely shortened the learning curve — he understood football as a system before he was old enough to be recruited. He majored in criminal justice at Florida Atlantic, not exactly the most glamorous football program in the country. He went to the East-West Shrine Game before the 2017 draft and was named defensive MVP, which is how DeCosta first took notice of him.

His Instagram bio — @trey_hendrickson91, around 194,000 followers — quotes Galatians 6:9: “Don’t grow weary in doing good, for at a proper time you’ll reap a harvest.” That’s his public-facing identity. Patient. Faith-driven. Not someone who appears to chase attention.

His jersey number is 91. He’ll wear it in Baltimore starting in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many career sacks does Trey Hendrickson have?
81 through nine NFL seasons, entering 2026. He’s added sacks in three different franchises — the Saints, Bengals, and now the Ravens.

What team does Trey Hendrickson play for?
The Baltimore Ravens, as of March 2026. He spent the previous five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

What is Trey Hendrickson’s contract with the Ravens?
Four years, $112 million base, with incentives that can push the total to $120 million. He received $60 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus. His average annual value of $28 million ranks 11th among edge rushers.

Why did Hendrickson leave the Bengals?
A contract dispute over guaranteed money, followed by a hip and pelvis injury that cost him ten games in 2025. Cincinnati declined to use the franchise tag, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.

What is Hendrickson’s playing style?
He’s a right defensive end who wins with speed, bend, and an engine that doesn’t quit late in games. His fourth-quarter sack total since 2021 (26.5) ranks second in the NFL. He’s not a dominant run stopper, but as a pass rusher on obvious passing downs, he’s among the best in the league at converting pressure into sacks.

How old is Trey Hendrickson?
31. He was born December 5, 1994, in Orlando, Florida.