After being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2017, defensive end Trey Hendrickson hit free agency four years into his young career. During his media availability before Super Bowl LVI, Hendrickson spoke on why he chose the Cincinnati Bengals as his ultimate destination.
Why did Trey Hendrickson sign with the Bengals?
Coming out of the 2020 season, the Bengals weren’t regarded as the top landing spot for many high-profile free agents. The team had just put together a 4-11-1 campaign, finishing in the basement of the AFC North. They also lost their star rookie QB Joe Burrow to a gruesome leg injury. There were more questions than answers surrounding the Cincinnati organization.
Hendrickson was coming off of the best season of his career with the Saints, amassing 13.5 sacks and 22 solo tackles. The team had also won the NFC South with a 12-4 record and made it to the Divisional Round before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With several offers likely on the table (Hendrickson refused to name specific teams when asked during the interview), Hendrickson ultimately signed a four-year deal with Cincinnati worth $60 million. But why did Hendrickson pick the Bengals?
“For one, from the top down, it is a family-run organization. Through history, they have been a very hard-working organization, which I can say means a lot to me. There’s a lot of things like very talented defense, which was only a couple of pieces away, and when you have a guy like Joe Burrow playing quarterback, that is exciting. So, it was a no-brainer for my family and was one of those things that we did pray about and take the right precautions, but I was truly excited to become a Cincinnati Bengal.”
Did former Saints Eli Apple and Vonn Bell help convince the free agent DE to join Cincinnati?
This Cincinnati defense has made enormous strides over the course of the season. They finished the year top 10 in total yards (371) and passing yards allowed per game (243.7). Additionally, they were top five in points allowed per game (19.7). A lot of that success can be attributed to Hendrickson’s connection with guys like cornerback Eli Apple and safety Vonn Bell.
Hendrickson played with Bell for three seasons in New Orleans (2017-2019) and two with Apple (2018-2019). Hendrickson specifically touched on his relationship with Apple and how he has evolved over time.
“Eli is great. He brings a lot of energy and has that mean streak that I think you need to play the game of football. Eli is a really special talent and can go toe to toe with anybody in the league. He has developed much better since New Orleans, and I think a lot of people would say that I have too. I think that should be every player’s goal, to improve year in and year out. I can see Eli has done that.”
Hendrickson was asked about his time with the Saints and what he felt he was able to bring with him from a successful first few seasons. This was when he opened up about his relationship with Bell and how he was an integral part of his decision to join Cincinnati.
“I knew that he [Bell] was a captain here, and they had a lot of respect for what he did, as I did when I played with him in New Orleans.”
Hendrickson wants to be the best Bengal that he can be
Throughout his interview, Hendrickson made it very clear that although he appreciated his time with the Saints, he feels like he really found his home in Cincinnati. Even after putting up the best season of his career with 14 sacks, Hendrickson is still striving to prove that the organization made the right decision bringing him in.
“Once I signed, there was nothing more important to me than being the best Bengal that I could be. One of the things that comes with that is how hard I want to work and how hard I want to prove that them taking a chance on me, them being the Brown family and Blackburn family, meant a lot to me, and I want to prove them right.”