Trey Hendrickson’s new deal with the Baltimore Ravens is already getting hit. Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report put the four-year, $112 million contract on a list of the worst NFL deals heading into 2026, arguing the money could turn fast if age and injury catch up with the pass rusher.
That is a sharp turn for a player who has spent much of the last five years making quarterbacks pay. Hendrickson posted 14 or more sacks in three of his five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and had back-to-back 17.5-sack years in 2023 and 2024, production that made him look like one of the league’s steadier edge threats before the Ravens handed him $60 million guaranteed.
The criticism lands now because the contract is new enough to judge as a fresh bet, but old enough to measure against the warning signs around it. Hendrickson, 31, played only 7 games last season after being placed on injured reserve, and Gagnon said his decline could begin in his 10th season. He also pointed to the back end of the deal, where Hendrickson is scheduled to cost $34.5 million in his age-35 season in 2029.
The football logic is easy to see, and so is the gamble. The Baltimore Ravens moved on after withdrawing from their original deal with the Las Vegas Raiders to land Maxx Crosby, then chose Hendrickson instead. Jeremy Fowler reported that Buffalo was also in on the chase, and Hendrickson’s public contract disputes with the Cincinnati Bengals over the last two offseasons helped push him toward free agency.
Gagnon’s harshest line is about the price of escaping the contract later. He wrote that the Ravens could wind up carrying a $27 million dead-cap charge if they decide to move on, which is the sort of number that turns a splash signing into a roster problem. Hendrickson still has the résumé to make the deal look reasonable. The question is whether the Ravens bought his next peak or the start of the slowdown Gagnon sees coming.
