Lions, 49ers named possible trade suitors for 79-sack superstar edge rusher

Lions, 49ers named possible trade suitors for 79-sack superstar edge rusher originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers are two teams in need of edge rusher help.

The Lions recently lost Marcus Davenport to an injury that will sideline him at least four games, leaving the team with Aidan Hutchinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad as their only edge rushers on the 53-man roster.

In San Francisco, the 49ers’ situation is even more dire after the team lost Nick Bosa to a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3.

With their current situations at EDGE, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox pegged the Lions and 49ers as possible trade partners for the Cincinnati Bengals and superstar edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

Knox believes Hendrickson could fetch a conditional second-round pick in a trade, which is plausible given the Bengals defender’s status as an elite pass-rusher.

Sunday’s blowout loss to the Minnesota Vikings showed that Cincinnati isn’t equipped to make a serious run with Jake Browning at quarterback. A conditional second-round pick that can become a first should interest the Bengals since Hendrickson is likely to depart in the offseason anyway.

For interested teams, that’s a steep price for a 30-year-old defender on an expiring contract. Because of this, Hendrickson isn’t at the top of our board, despite being the most proven pass-rusher on it.

Potential Suitors: Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers

Hendrickson would be just what the doctor ordered for both teams. After finishing with a league-high 17.5 sacks in 2024, nobody in the league has more sacks than Hendrickson since 2023.

Over the course of his career, Hendrickson has 79 sacks.

He could create an elite duo with Hutchinson and would greatly improve Detroit’s Super Bowl hopes. For San Fran, Hendrickson is one of the few players who could fill Bosa’s massive shoes and keep San Fran’s defense on track.

The problem with this trade idea is that the Bengals are unlikely to move Hendrickson this early, if at all.

Doing so would amount to the Bengals waving the white flag on the 2025 season, something they aren’t likely to do, even after Joe Burrow’s injury. After all, the Bengals are 2-1 and believe backup Jake Browning can weather the storm.

That said, Browning was awful in Week 3 and if Cincinnati’s season goes south and the Bengals fall out of contention by the trade deadline, Hendrickson could become available if the Bengals don’t believe he’ll be back in 2026, when he’s slated to be a free agent.

Again, we’re hesitant to believe the Bengals will trade Hendrickson at all, but if the opportunity presents itself, the Lions and 49ers should both be interested.

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