The Detroit Lions had an incredible 2024 season. It may sound weird, but the Lions had their best season in franchise history this past fall. Detroit won 15 games, clinched a second-consecutive NFC North division title, and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. All of those are franchise firsts for the Lions.
However, injuries really took their toll on the Lions. Detroit limped into the playoffs with the most injured defense in the NFL, headlined by the loss of Aidan Hutchinson.
As a result, they ended up losing to the Commanders during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Now the Lions need to rebuild their depleted defense so they can make another deep playoff push during the 2025 season.
Detroit got off to a great start during NFL free agency. The Lions started by adding cornerback DJ Reed from the Jets. He received a three-year contract worth $48 million, which looked great in comparison to Carlton Davis III’s $60 million deal with the Patriots.
The Lions also added more depth in the secondary, adding Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox to their cornerback room.
Detroit also added addition depth pieces on both sides of the ball. This included bringing back players like Derrick Barnes, Levi Onwuzurike, Dan Skipper, and Marcus Davenport. It also included some external additions like Roy Lopez.
The Lions are now positioned to deploy their draft capital however they like during the 2025 NFL Draft.
However, the Lions could also consider a trade that could upgrade their roster before the start of the draft. If Detroit makes the right move, they could add a difference maker who could completely change their defense.
But who could it be?
Below we will explore one bold trade the Detroit Lions should consider making after the first week of NFL free agency.
Lions could throw caution to the wind, trade for Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson
Let’s go over the trade terms before getting into our analysis.
Lions receive:
- DE Trey Hendrickson
Bengals receive:
- 2025 second-round pick (60th overall)
- 2026 third-round pick (compensatory)
It is never easy to acquire a quality edge rusher in the NFL. Therefore, the Lions have to give up a lot to acquire a player like Hendrickson.
Hendrickson requested a trade during the 2024 season. While he ultimately walked back his request and played out the rest of the year in Cincinnati, he has since changed his tune.
The Bengals gave Hendrickson permission to seek a trade on March 6th. Hendrickson is seeking a new contract that includes more guaranteed money. That is a valid request for a player who has logged 17.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons.
However, it is not as simple as calling up the Bengals and offering a solid return.
Let’s start by acknowledging that the Lions would need to give Hendrickson a large contract extension after acquiring him. In all likelihood, Detroit would have to agree on the terms of that deal beforehand with Hendrickson’s agent. This by itself makes this idea a little dicey.
The Bengals may also not be too eager to trade Hendrickson away in the first place. Despite allowing Hendrickson permission to seek a trade, the Bengals are rumored to not be eager to make a deal despite significant interest in him.
It should be noted that these rumors came out of Cincinnati after the team extended both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on long-term contracts. Clearly, the Bengals would like to keep Hendrickson around no matter what.
With that in mind, I should explain that the above trade terms are what many would agree are fair compensation. Detroit would still be giving up a lot, especially considering they’d be handing out a big contract.
I mention this because if the Bengals really value Hendrickson as much as they seem to, the actual asking price would likely be north of a first-round pick. Starting to see why Hendrickson hasn’t already been traded?
But let’s daydream for a moment. If the Lions were able to acquire Hendrickson, he would completely change the perception of their defense.
Simply having Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson on the same defense would give opposing offensive coordinators nightmares. Both Hutchinson and Hendrickson have had their recent success despite opposing offenses going out of their way to shut them down.
If they joined forces, at least one of them would be a threat to sack the quarterback on almost every passing play.
Detroit could still add an edge rusher for the future with their first-round pick, assuming they get to keep it. This would allow Detroit to “win now” by adding Hendrickson and still build for the future by adding a rookie.
This may not be the most realistic trade, but it is hard to argue that it would be incredibly exciting if it actually happened.
