Recently, Pro Football Focus did an assessment of the best free agent fit for each NFL team, and for the Chicago Bears, they picked Trey Hendrickson, the star defensive end of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here’s
what they wrote.
While the Bears found success with Montez Sweat, their edge pass-rush rotation was otherwise limited, as no other edge rusher with at least 100 pass-rush snaps posted a pass-rush win rate above 10%. Ultimately, Chicago finished just 29th in pressure rate (31.1%) during the regular season, highlighting the need for a game-breaking presence off the edge. Reuniting Hendrickson with his former defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, makes sense.
Despite an injury-shortened 2025 campaign, Hendrickson profiles as one of the most impressive pass rushers on the market this offseason. Across the past three seasons, he ranks in the top five at his position in PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets (92.5) and stands as one of just six edge rushers with a pass-rush win rate above 20%.
There is a lot to like about this potential free agency acquisition. The Bears were 22nd overall in total sacks in 2025, and Hendrickson led the league in sacks in 2024 and was second in 2023. Hendrickson was drafted by the New Orleans Saints with Dennis Alen in charge of the defense there, so he is familiar with Hendrickson as a player. Further, Hendrickson will likely not break the bank in terms of years or overall contract dollars, given his age and injury-shortened 2025 season.
However, while that may put Hendrickson in the Bears’ cap management this off-season, it also raises questions about whether he can return to form in his age-32 season. Given his age and the fact that his 2025 season was cut short by a season-ending injury requiring surgery, one where he posted only four sacks in seven games played, there is legitimate cause for concern. He only had 16 tackles in those seven games, and even at his peak, he was not considered a particularly good run defender, a key attribute that Dennis Allen prefers in his edge players. We all remember the excitement we had when the Bears signed Jared Allen once upon a time, at a similar point in his career. Allen would only post 5.5 sacks in the 2014-2015 season and was traded to the Carolina Panthers.
Still, you have to like the idea of potentially signing an elite pass rusher in free agency that the Bears could fit into their cap situation, and who would cost zero draft capital to acquire. But what do you think about the possibility of the Bears signing Trey Hendrickson?
Tell us in the comments below!
