Tag: Trey Hendrickson

WATCH: Carl Granderson putting in the work to help replace Trey Hendrickson

New Orleans Saints defensive end Carl Granderson is training to help replace Trey Hendrickson, one of the team’s big departing free agents.

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There’s a big opportunity ahead of Carl Granderson, who joined the Saints as an undrafted rookie in 2019. He broke out in 2020, his second season, bagging 5 sacks and 19 total quarterback pressures on just 194 pass rush snaps (per Pro Football Focus). With Trey Hendrickson leaving the Saints’ rotation in 2021, there will be chances for backups like Hendrickson and the recently-added Tanoh Kpassagnon to take the next step.

Granderson took a long road to get here. He spent 43 days in a Wyoming jail on misdemeanor charges until his case was handed to a different judge, who changed his sentencing to a year of probation. He’s since kept his hands to himself and stayed out of trouble, and now he’s working to be the best pro he can be.

He’s been working out with coach Aaron Day, a personal trainer based in California who specializes in developing pass rushers. Day shared some highlights of Granderson’s progress so far, along with a stated goal: ten or more sacks in 2021. That might seem lofty for a player with just 6 career sacks, but Hendrickson went into the 2020 season with only 6.5 takedowns to his name. The factors are there for Granderson to experience similar success.

Like Hendrickson, Granderson is very explosive out of his stance, often beating opponents to their spot before they’re able to lurch into motion. He’s also very flexible in his lower body, which allows him to get under blockers’ arms and bend the edge on the way to the quarterback. He hasn’t had as many opportunities to show it from the bottom of their depth chart (with just 283 career pass rush opportunities, per PFF), but Granderson is a fitting comparison in the right circumstances to the athletically-superior Hendrickson.

Whether Granderson can put all of his tools together to help make up for what the Saints have lost with Hendrickson joining the Bengals remains to be seen, but he’ll have every opportunity. Hendrickson had 101 more pass rush snaps in 2020 than Granderson has had in his career. Those snaps have to go somewhere, so it’s good to see that he’ll be prepared. He’s going to be a restricted free agent in 2022 that the Saints can retain at low cost, so he has plenty of time to build momentum towards a potentially lucrative contract in 2023 — at the same time as the salary cap skyrocketing once new NFL broadcasting rights deals are activated.

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Saints to face many of their former players in 2021

Saints free agent Sheldon Rankins joined the Jets while Emmanuel Sanders signed with the Bills and Janoris Jenkins teamed up with the Titans

The New Orleans Saints are going to see plenty of familiar faces lining up against them in 2021. They’re scheduled to play against the AFC East and, if NFL owners approve the expected plans during league meetings at the end of March, the Tennessee Titans in the new seventeenth regular season matchup.

And former Saints players and free agents have found their way to several opposing squads on their upcoming schedule. Pieces are still moving as available players reach deals with new teams around the NFL, but here are the ex-Saints we know will be wearing different jerseys in 2021:

Saints projected to receive 4th round comp pick after losing Trey Hendrickson

The New Orleans Saints are projected to receive a compensatory draft pick in the 2022 NFL draft after losing free agent DE Trey Hendrickson.

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When it was reported that Trey Hendrickson agreed to terms on a free agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals averaging $15 million per year, expectations for New Orleans Saints fans were that the team would recoup a third-round compensatory draft pick in 2022 — the most valuable compensation possible, owing to his high average salary.

However, the analysts at Over The Cap expect his departure to net just a fourth rounder, at least at this stage in free agency. That forecast will change as more deals are worked out around the league. The Saints could disqualify themselves for comp pick consideration by signing more players than they’ve lost; for now, their acquisition of fullback Alex Armah is expected to cancel out the loss of cornerback Justin Hardee, which may have qualified for an extra seventh rounder.

But that’s unlikely given the number of Saints free agents testing the market. Between defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and linebackers Alex Anzalone and Craig Robertson, odds are good New Orleans loses more than they gain in this period. That’s how they added several comp picks in 2021, having lost quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (netting a third rounder) and linebacker A.J. Klein (earning a sixth round pick) the year before.

And that’s in addition to the third-round compensatory pick the Saints will receive in 2022 after the Atlanta Falcons hired executive Terry Fontenot, as part of the NFL’s new incentivized policy for minority candidates. Things could change if they trade any picks or add more, but at this time they’re expected to work with their full compliment of 2022 draft selections plus a third-round comp pick for Fontenot and a possible fourth rounder for Hendrickson. That’s valuable ammo to help reload in the post-Drew Brees era.

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The five worst deals handed out on the first day of NFL free agency

It wasn’t as crazy as other years, but there were still some questionable contracts offered.

We knew this NFL offseason was going to be different, and that’s already proven to be the case. And, no, I’m not just saying that because the Patriots and Bill Belichick are throwing around money like the salary cap doesn’t exist. I’m saying that because there weren’t a lot of obviously egregious deals handed out on the first day of the legal tampering period.

Typically, this post is much easier to write. But this time around, I had to scroll up and down our free agency tracker (in which we’ve analyzed every major deal!) to pick out five moves that I didn’t like all that much. And I’m not even too down on any of the ones I’ll criticize here.

So, um, good job, NFL general managers!

Well, not the ones who agreed to these five deals I picked out as the worst moves of the day…

Trey Hendrickson’s Bengals contract details and impact on cap space

Here are some more details on the Cincinnati Bengals signing DE Trey Hendrickson in free agency.

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The Cincinnati Bengals got crafty with their big deal for free agent Trey Hendrickson.

Cincinnati, in response to losing Carl Lawson, seemed to throw major money at the first fallback plan possible, giving Hendrickson four years and $60 million.

But the structure is interesting. According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, Hendrickson gets $10 million to sign, $20 million in 2021. He’ll get $32 million over two years.

Most important? The actual cap hit this season is just $12.5 million — and nothing is guaranteed after 2021.

Hendrickson was a risk of a signing because while his numbers were elite last year, it was one-hit-wonder stuff. If he doesn’t work out, the Bengals can cut him loose and he becomes nothing more than a stop-gap signing.

Meaning, the Bengals played it smart here, though the ’21 cap hit could have probably been even lower. Lawson, on the other hand, took a massive amount of guaranteed money in New York.

The fallout? The Bengals have roughly $30 million in cap space left and can still create more with certain cuts and/or trades.

For those curious, we graded Cincinnati’s signing of Hendrickson in-depth.

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Trey Hendrickson’s Bengals contract details and impact on cap space

Here are some more details on the Cincinnati Bengals signing DE Trey Hendrickson in free agency.

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The Cincinnati Bengals got crafty with their big deal for free agent Trey Hendrickson.

Cincinnati, in response to losing Carl Lawson, seemed to throw major money at the first fallback plan possible, giving Hendrickson four years and $60 million.

But the structure is interesting. According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, Hendrickson gets $10 million to sign, $20 million in 2021. He’ll get $32 million over two years.

Most important? The actual cap hit this season is just $12.5 million — and nothing is guaranteed after 2021.

Hendrickson was a risk of a signing because while his numbers were elite last year, it was one-hit-wonder stuff. If he doesn’t work out, the Bengals can cut him loose and he becomes nothing more than a stop-gap signing.

Meaning, the Bengals played it smart here, though the ’21 cap hit could have probably been even lower. Lawson, on the other hand, took a massive amount of guaranteed money in New York.

The fallout? The Bengals have roughly $30 million in cap space left and can still create more with certain cuts and/or trades.

For those curious, we graded Cincinnati’s signing of Hendrickson in-depth.

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Recapping Saints news from Day 1 of free agency’s legal tampering window

The Saints kept their cool when the NFL legal tampering window opened, re-signing Jameis Winston and James Hurst but losing Trey Hendrickson

It wasn’t all quiet in New Orleans on the first day of the NFL legal tampering period — excuse me, the negotiating window, or whatever we’re calling it now. With teams able to call representatives for available free agents for the first time, several situations sorted themselves out for the Saints. But there’s plenty of work still to do, so catch up on Monday’s news before things heat up on Day 2.

Browns sit out first wave of free agent pass rushers and big price tags

A lot of pass rushers made a lot of absurd money on Monday

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The first day of NFL free agency, popularly known as the legal tampering period, ended without a lot of activity from the Cleveland Browns. GM Andrew Berry and the Browns made a huge move in agreeing to terms with safety John Johnson, but that’s the only player incoming after the first day.

The Browns still need a pass rusher to line up opposite Myles Garrett, a position many expected Cleveland to address prominently in free agency. That didn’t happen on the first day, a time where there was a spending frenzy on pass rushers around the league.

Some of the deals are crazy money, contracts that the Browns are smart to not compete with or dole out. A couple of prominently mentioned potential targets for Cleveland wound up getting much more money from other teams than the Browns would rationally spend.

Take Trey Hendrickson. The Saints standout is heading to Cincinnati for $60 million over four years. That’s a massive amount of money for a player with 20 sacks in four seasons. More than half–13.5 to be exact–came in his contract season while playing almost exclusively in passing situations.

Would Hendrickson help the Browns? Absolutely. But at that price tag? That would cut into any potential Baker Mayfield extension, or other ways the team must spend to keep the core of the emerging young contender intact.

Hendrickson replaces Carl Lawson in Cincinnati. Lawson would have looked great in a Brown uniform, no doubt about it. But he’s getting P-A-I-D by the Jets,

A $15 million per year deal to be the No. 2 to Garrett in Cleveland simply isn’t a feasible option, not long-term anyway. It’s hard to justify paying that much for a second fiddle. Someone who can command that kind of contract isn’t likely to handle being a second fiddle too long, either.

There were several big deals to pass rushers on Monday:

Olivier Vernon had to take a pay cut to stick with Cleveland last offseason and it worked out for both sides, fortunately. Expect the Browns to have learned from that experience that the top-tier salary isn’t needed to get the kind of pass-rush production and level of all-around play that Vernon capably provided in 2020.

The Browns have shown major interest in guys like Jadeveon Clowney and J.J. Watt during the Berry reign at GM. Clowney is still out there a year after he failed to notch a single sack; hopefully that infatuation has faded.

The market should settle now. Fewer teams need starters at the position, and the amount of teams who can pay for the top remaining guys is also much lower than it was at the beginning of the legal tampering period. The remaining names aren’t premium players, but it seems the Browns are fine not paying two premium defensive ends. Among those still left who can help the Browns:

  • Takkarist McKinley
  • Tarell Basham
  • Haason Reddick
  • Carlos Dunlap

There’s also the draft next month, and the Browns sit in a range in the first round where they should be able to land an instant starter at EDGE, if they so choose. It’s not time to panic–it’s one day after all–and Berry and the Browns are savvy enough and patient enough to let the market come to them.

Grading Bengals’ free-agency splash with DE Trey Hendrickson

Here’s the outlook after the Cincinnati Bengals agreed to terms with DE Trey Hendrickson.

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The Cincinnati Bengals had to improvise quickly after losing Carl Lawson to the New York Jets and ended up agreeing to terms with New Orleans Saints pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, there’s nothing to say this move is a wash that up and replaces Lawson well.

Lawson, after all, had 5.5 sacks last year and was one of the best in the NFL at creating sacks for his teammates, ranking alongside names like Khalil Mack. There’s a reason the Jets gave Lawson $45 million with $30 of it guaranteed.

The news isn’t all bad. Hendrickson is only 26 years old and erupted for 14 sacks last year, grading at a 72.1 at PFF. The sack tally is nice, but Hendrickson did it on 53 percent of the defense’s snaps — that’s the first time in his four-year career he’s played more than 38 percent of the snaps.

And that’s a little concerning. The Bengals aren’t paying Hendrickson big dollars to play a rotational role and he had some problems against the run. While there’s a chance he could be hitting the apex of his development and keep producing big numbers, there’s also a chance things go the other direction.

A lot of this will come down to contract structure. The Bengals will pay Hendrickson less than Lawson will get in New York and it sounds like the cap hit checks in around $12.5 million this year. If he flops and there is a way to get out of it early, great.

Still, the Bengals are betting a lot on Hendrickson just coming in and producing on a team that doesn’t have another reliable pass-rusher under a coordinator that hasn’t proven he can put together a strong unit yet.

As such, some of the numbers sound great. But a lot has to go right. Hendrickson was a part-time player working on a loaded front featuring elite players like Cam Jordan. That means D.J. Reader needs to be a big presence for the team and the front office can’t stop adding pass-rushers now.

For now, the grade is something essentially incomplete with a sour taste of letting Lawson slip away.

Grade: C

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Bengals agree to terms with free-agent DE Trey Hendrickson

The Cincinnati Bengals made a big splash in free agency.

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It didn’t take long for the Cincinnati Bengals to find a fallback plan after losing Carl Lawson in free agency.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bengals have agreed to terms with New Orleans Saints pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson. It’s a four-year deal worth $60 million. It was reported earlier Monday that the Bengals were in on him, too.

Hendrickson, 26, was an unexpected breakout for the Saints last year with 13.5 sacks, posting a  72.1 PFF grade. He’s not as good as Lawson, but last year was the first time he saw the most snaps of his career and he seems to still be developing.

The Bengals figure to give Hendrickson an even bigger role right out of the gates. At this point, they don’t figure to be done trying to add pass-rushers either.

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