The New England Patriots seem like the kind of team that will make a trade move. But they have the draft as a fall-back option. Also, they have their free-agent radar turned to Trey Hendrickson among the star pass rushers that would address their biggest priority.
Was last year’s impressive jump from nowhere to the Super Bowl a fluke? Will the Patriots go the way of the 2025 Washington Commanders in 2026? Or is this the start of another great run for the franchise?
To get things going in the latter direction, the Patriots need to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Patriots considering edge rusher Trey Hendrickson
The Patriots believe edge rusher is the team’s biggest need for the 2026 season, according to masslive.com.
“Although the team would like K’Lavon Chaisson back, it’s not a guarantee he’ll return to New England, as it’s expected he’ll have a robust free agent market,” Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian wrote. “As one league source said, “Chaisson’s looking to get paid.
“Whether or not that’s with the Patriots remains to be seen. Add in Harold Landry’s age and injury history, and the team is looking to reload the depth chart.”
And Hendrickson would be the apple of the Patriots’ eye.
“For the right price, the Patriots could also be in the market for Hendrickson,” Daniels and Guregian wrote. “He would give the Patriots a prolific pass rusher.”
Of course, Hendrickson may not even be available. There’s still a chance he remains with the Bengals, according to NFL.com.
“I never will rule out any possibility,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said. “He's a good football player. So, is there a chance he'll be with us? We're in the business of good football players, so I can't rule it out. But I don't know what the future holds.”
However, a franchise tag seems unlikely.
“And in terms of the tag, we're still moving through that,” Tobin said. “I don't have a definite answer there. We have resources, and how we deploy them are things that will come out.”
