The Falcons' defense may improve drastically yet again after the recent Trey Hendrickson news. The 30-year-old Bengals defensive end is making headlines after multiple blunt comments regarding his ongoing contract negotiations, or lack thereof.
This situation begs the question: Are the Falcons done adding? The Falcons' top two draft picks came with controversy but certainly aided a woeful defensive line. Adding a superstar like Hendrickson would surely squash any draft doubt.
Entering the final year of his contract extension, Hendrickson is set to make $21 million, according to Spotrac. While that may seem reasonable, Hendrickson doesn't think so, and neither does the market. The top defensive end contract is Myles Garrett's $40 million AAV, nearly twice Hendrickson's.
Atlanta needs Trey Hendrickson more than Hendrickson needs the Falcons
Due to his elite production over the last two seasons, there's no question that Hendrickson should be paid handsomely. He racked up 35 sacks the last two seasons combined, which is first in the NFL by a wide margin. An elite talent who's looking to be paid as such, fair.
Would the Falcons want to add him? Potentially, he's looking for a multi-year, high-value extension, which Atlanta recently awarded a similar contract to a different veteran last offseason. Because of Kirk Cousins' deal, the Falcons would likely need to ship him off to afford Hendrickson, which would be difficult at this stage in the offseason.
Despite the difficulty, the presence of Hendrickson would provide massive value to an underperforming defense sporting two new edge stars. While you can't have too many edge guys, Walker won the Butkus award in 2024, so he's much more than an edge rusher.
Would the Bengals even trade him? After over a year of contract negotiations with fellow Cincinnati superstar Jamar Chase, he finally got paid, so that's precedent. But Hendrickson is actively threatening to sit out, which sometimes works but oftentimes doesn't. Either way, Atlanta could certainly use Hendrickson to establish a dominant defensive front to couple with its dominant secondary.
The Falcons have been woeful in sack production the last six years, and many thought the draft would aid Atlanta, which it did. Regardless, adding the reigning sack leader would boost playoff chances tremendously. GM Terry Fontenot and Co. are likely done adding major defensive pieces, but Falcons fans would love seeing Hendrickson sport the Red and Black at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this coming fall.