The Seattle Seahawks have a great defense. Except for one game this season, the unit has been elite. Week 5, when Seattle allowed 38 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was an outlier with a caveat. Seattle was missing four starters in the second half, for instance.
But every team could use another great edge rusher, even if the team already has three or four. The group works best in a rotation, keeping each player fresh and ready to chase down opposing quarterbacks. The Seahawks have a solid group, including Boye Mafe, DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall, and Uchenna Nwosu.
But what's one more, especially if that one is Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson? Plus, if Hendrickson could be acquired for a relatively good asking price, why not add him?
Projected trade value for Trey Hendrickson is definitely affordable for the Seattle Seahawks
According to Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox, a team looking to make a trade for the Bengals player would only potentially need to send a conditional second-round draft pick. This makes sense seven weeks into the season because Hendrickson isn't under contract next year.
Any team adding the edge rusher would only have him for half a season, and signing him to an extension is going to cost a lot of money. That is a risk, and Cincinnati and every other NFL team probably know that overspending for a player past 30 years old would be a mistake.
The Seattle Seahawks should take that risk. While Mafe is a free agent, and possibly an expensive one, next offseason, Nwosu, Lawrence, and Hall are all under contract through at least 2026. Assuming Trey Hendrickson is traded to Seattle, and then the team signs him, which it can afford, the Seahawks would continue to have an elite edge rush group.
The question any team has to ask itself before making a move for Cincy's edge rusher is how much longer he will continue to play at a high level. In 2023 and 2024, he had 17.5 sacks each season. This year, he is trending slightly lower, but still toward 10 sacks. He still has 23 total pressures in six games.
Trey Hendrickson would add value to the Seattle Seahawks. Getting him for a 2026 second-round draft pick would be a steal. Why not make the move in a season where head coach Mike Macdonald's team could make a serious push for a deep playoff run?