The Detroit Lions need to add another edge rusher, plain and simple.
After cutting Za’Darius Smith earlier this offseason, the Lions are relying on injury-prone veteran Marcus Davenport and a sixth-round rookie in Ahmed Hassanein to pick up the slack opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
That’s simply not good enough for a Lions team with a legitimate shot to win its first Super Bowl in 2025.
The dream acquisition all Lions fans want to see is a trade for Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who remains in a contract standoff with Cincinnati that doesn’t appear to have an end in sight.
That means a trade is possible, and if that happens Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton predicts that Hendrickson will land in Motown.
Here’s Moton’s proposal and some of his write-up:
- Lions get: Trey Hendrickson
- Bengals get: 2026 second-round pick, 2026 fifth-round pick
“Aidan Hutchinson is cleared to participate in football activities, but Detroit needs a reliable pass-rusher opposite him on the defensive line,” Moton wrote. “As Super Bowl contenders, the Lions should be aggressive in filling a glaring roster need.”
We couldn’t agree more with Moton.
Detroit’s Super Bowl window will not be open forever and general manager Brad Holmes needs to throw financial caution to the wind and make the big splash this team needs, no matter the draft capital and monetary cost.
Adding Hendrickson would give the Lions the best one-two punch at edge rusher in the NFL. Hendrickson has tallied 17.5 sacks in each of the past two years and no EDGE in the NFL has more since 2023, and he led the league in 2024.
On top of the draft capital, the Lions would have to give Hendrickson a new deal that pays him around $35 million or so annually.
Is all of that risky for a player who is set to turn 31 in December?
Sure, but if Hendrickson can finally help the Lions get over the hump to their first Super Bowl, nobody is going to be worried about the future implications of his contract.
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