- Trey Hendrickson's market is now in a tricky spot: With most of the top talent off the board, Hendrickson is the clear best available free agent. But what are teams willing to spend on a high-impact 31-year-old pass rusher?
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
The NFL’s legal tampering period began Monday, affording franchises the opportunity to negotiate contract terms with pending free agents prior to the official start of free agency. Within minutes, the NFL world was flooded with reports of players signing lucrative contracts and teams executing trades. After weeks of speculation, rumors and reports, the picture is starting to come into focus.
No deals can be made official until the start of the new league year on March 11, and although the dust is far from settled, there are still takeaways to be gleaned from the past 24 hours of roster movement.
Trades by the Bunches
Some high-profile trades in the lead-up to Monday foreshadowed what was to come, starting with the blockbuster deal that sent former Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams. He was promptly rewarded with the highest-earning contract (four years, $124 million) at the position, at the cost of a package of picks, including one of the Rams’ two first-round selections in this April’s draft.
The Ravens and Raiders followed that up with a massive trade of their own to send edge rusher Maxx Crosby from Vegas to Baltimore. The deal gave the Ravens one of the NFL’s prolific pass rushers, at the cost of two first-round picks (2026 and 2027).
Those deals alone affected the market’s top players, with names like Trey Hendrickson and Jamel Dean having been frequently linked to the Ravens and Rams, respectively. While Dean ultimately landed in Pittsburgh, Hendrickson remains unsigned at the time of writing.
The Packers also got in on the action to acquire linebacker Zaire Franklin from the Colts in exchange for defensive tackle Colby Wooden. The Raiders turned around a second trade to acquire Bills slot cornerback Taron Johnson.
And that’s just from the lead-up to the legal tampering period. Since the window’s opening, numerous other trades have been executed, including Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers, Rashan Gary to the Cowboys and Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Jets.
The volume of trades indicates how teams may view a “good, not great” crop of free agent and draft talent at a few key positions, opting to part with draft capital to address those needs more effectively.
Running Backs are Cashing in
Following the money during the opening frame of the legal tampering period can tell us a lot about how NFL evaluators view the upcoming draft class, most notably as it pertains to the running back position. The conclusions many have come to have already had far-reaching effects on free agency.
Unlike the 2025 draft class, which was considered particularly flush with running back talent, the 2026 class features just one name — Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love — inside the top 50 on the PFF Predictive Big Board. NFL evaluators likely carry a similar sentiment, which has spurred massive free-agent spending at the position.
The Jets placed the franchise tag on Breece Hall ($14.29 million), followed by lucrative deals for Kenneth Walker III (three years, $43 million with the Chiefs) and Travis Etienne Jr. (four years, $52 million with the Saints).
That level of spending at the running back position hasn’t been seen before, with three backs taking home $13 million or more on average. For comparison, no back in the 2024 free-agent class — which featured Saquon Barkley (three years, $37.75 million), Josh Jacobs (four years, $48 million) and Derrick Henry (two years, $16 million) — eclipsed that mark in average annual value.
And the spending didn’t stop there. Tyler Allgeier (two years, $12 million with the Cardinals), Kenneth Gainwell (two years, $14 million with the Buccaneers), J.K. Dobbins (two years, $18 million with the Broncos) and, prior to the period beginning, Javonte Williams (three years, $24 million with the Cowboys) also received competitive contract figures. If the draft class had been considered stronger at the running back position, those numbers would have likely been much lower.
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In contrast to the running back market, some of the top defensive names took longer to settle into the market, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson chief among them.
Devin Bush (three years, $30 million with the Bears), Alex Anzalone (two years, $17 million with the Buccaneers), Demario Davis (two years, $22 million with the Jets), and Justin Strnad (three years, $18 million with the Broncos) all signed deals early in the process. Nakobe Dean’s (three years, $36 million with the Raiders) signing came later in the day. Additionally, enticing young linebacker Leo Chenal to remain without a home despite ranking inside the top 15 in PFF’s free agent rankings.
Devin Lloyd’s deal with the Panthers wasn’t announced until 10 p.m. EST to close out the opening day of the legal tampering period. The All-Pro was projected to secure a deal in the range of $16-20 million per year, but ultimately, his market settled at a shade under that mark with a three-year, $45 million deal.
The circumstances likely stem from the incoming talent at the position in this year’s draft. Names like Ohio State’s Arvell Reese (linebacker-edge defender hybrid) and Sonny Styles highlight a class that is both flush with depth and blue-chip talent.
Where Does Trey Hendrickson’s Market Stand?
Similar to the linebacker group, the incoming class of rookies features a variety of quality pass-rushing talent off the edge, including Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, Texas Tech’s David Bailey and Romello Height, and a laundry list of others inside the top 75 on the PFF Predictive Big Board.
However, that sentiment didn’t stop teams in need of pass-rushing help from dishing out lucrative deals to free-agent edge rushers. Jaelan Phillips secured a massive four-year, $120 million offer to sign with the Panthers, and Odafe Oweh received a sizable four-year, $100 million deal from the Commanders. And that’s without mentioning a slew of other deals on the edge for names like Boye Mafe (three years, $60 million with the Bengals), Dre'Mont Jones (three years, $39 million with the Patriots) and Kwity Paye (three years, $48 million with the Raiders).
Despite ranking in the 95th percentile in PFF pass-rushing grade since joining the Bengals in 2021, Hendrickson has been passed over. Franchises appear reluctant to lock up the 31-year-old at top-of-the-market rates, and Hendrickson is, understandably, likely not willing to play for less than what he’s worth. With many of the teams looking to bolster their pass rush having already invested resources elsewhere, options remain somewhat limited for Hendrickson.