Commanders ‘Exploring’ Trade for Disgruntled Star

The Washington Commanders were thrust into a competitive window by quarterback Jayden Daniels' meteoric rise to the pantheon of elite quarterbacks. With three more seasons of Daniels counting for less than four percent of the cap, the time for the Commanders to roll the dice has arrived.

Few teams can afford to spend more than Washington, which has nearly $80 million in cap space at its disposal heading into free agency. The spending spree has already begun with the trade for receiver Deebo Samuel and re-signing of veteran tight end Zach Ertz.

With the offense mostly settled, the other side of the ball could (and should) be prioritized, helping to create a more well-rounded roster.

As such, The Athletic reported that the Commanders are "exploring" a trade for disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

"The Commanders are among the many teams exploring a potential trade for Bengals All-Pro Trey Hendrickson, per sources," Dianna Russini reported.

"Hendrickson was granted permission to seek a trade last Thursday by Cincinnati. One NFL executive shared, the Bengals are looking for ‘significant trade compensation in return.'"

The Bengals are doing what they do best – kicking the tires on big contracts and suffering the consequences. That leaves Hendrickson, who's looking for a new deal, up for trade.

Washington is positioned well to make this kind of blockbuster, should negotiations continue to deteriorate. With Daniels under center, first-round picks will be expected to fall in the second half – if not the final few picks – of Day 1. The Commanders can afford to extend Hendrickson, too, although Myles Garrett's monster extension might make that more difficult.

This is a defense that needs reinforcement, and Hendrickson's sack production has grown from unsustainable to remarkably consistent. He's logged 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, with 13- and 14.5-sack campaigns to boot.

Hendrickson is next in line to be paid, and the contract will likely be upwards of $30 million per year. But few teams are positioned to take that kind of risk, and few teams would move themselves further along the win curve by adding an elite edge rusher.

If Hendrickson helps hoist the Lombardi Trophy, nobody would care how much money is left on his deal.