Trey Hendrickson (born December 5, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Atlantic Owls and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. Hendrickson signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021 and won the 2024 Deacon Jones Award after leading the NFL in sacks that season.
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College career
Hendrickson attended Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and played college football for the Owls from 2013 to 2016.
Professional career
Hendrickson was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts to be a third or fourth round pick. He played in the 2017 East-West Shrine Game and was named the game's defensive MVP.
New Orleans Saints
Hendrickson was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round (103rd overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. On June 2, 2017, the Saints signed him to a four-year, $3.17 million contract which included a signing bonus of $706,288.
He competed with Darryl Tapp, Alex Okafor, Obum Gwacham, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Alex Jenkins throughout training camp for the role as the starting defensive end. Head coach Sean Payton named Hendrickson as the backup defensive end to Cameron Jordan and Alex Okafor to begin the regular season.
Hendrickson was unable to appear in the Saints' season-opening 29–19 loss to the Minnesota Vikings due to an illness. On September 17, 2017, Hendrickson made his professional regular season debut against the New England Patriots and recorded three combined tackles in the Saints' 36–20 loss. The next week, he had two combined tackles and sacked Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during a 34–13 victory. In a Week 6 matchup against the Detroit Lions, he had two pass deflections as the Saints won 52–38.
In the 2018 season, Hendrickson appeared in five games in the regular season and recorded eight combined tackles and four quarterback hits.
In the 2019 regular season opener for the Saints, Hendrickson recorded two sacks against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. He had 4.5 sacks, 19 total tackles, and a forced fumble in the 2019 season.
In Week 9 of the 2020 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hendrickson recorded two sacks of Tom Brady during the 38–3 win. In Week 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hendrickson sacked Patrick Mahomes twice, including a strip sack that was recovered by the Saints, during a 32–29 loss to Kansas City. Hendrickson finished the 2020 season with 13.5 sacks, 25 total tackles, one pass defended, and a forced fumble. He was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021 and voted to the PFWA All-NFL team.
Cincinnati Bengals
On March 19, 2021, Hendrickson signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Hendrickson was named the team's starting right defensive end. In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, Hendrickson recorded his first sack of the season, a strip sack of Bears quarterback Andy Dalton. He had his only multi-sack game of the season in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers, sacking Aaron Rodgers twice for a loss. That was the first of nine games in a row where Hendrickson recorded a sack, and the first of eleven where he recorded at least half a sack. Hendrickson finished his first season with the team with 14 sacks, breaking the Bengals franchise record for sacks in a single season, and the fifth most in the league for the season.
Hendrickson's dominance continued during the Bengals' playoff run, with a strip sack against Derek Carr in the Bengals' 26–19 win against the Las Vegas Raiders in the Wild Card Round. Hendrickson netted another sack in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs, leading the Bengals defensive charge on the way to their third Super Bowl appearance in team history. Hendrickson recorded a sack in Super Bowl LVI, with the Bengals losing 23–20 to the Los Angeles Rams.
He was named to his first Pro Bowl, and was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
Hendrickson returned to playing as the right defensive end. His first breakout performance of the year came in Week 3, where he had four tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles in a 27–12 win over the New York Jets, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Hendrickson suffered a wrist injury in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns, leading to him being ruled out the following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hendrickson finished the season with eight sacks, 32 total tackles, three passes defended, and three forced fumbles. He was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl, and was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
Hendrickson signed a contract extension through the 2025 season on July 27, 2023. During the Bengals' training camp, Hendrickson was involved in a scuffle with newly signed left tackle Orlando Brown, leading to Hendrickson suffering from superficial wounds. Hendrickson recorded his first sack of the season in Week 1 against the Browns. Hendrickson had his first breakout game of the season in Week 3 against the Rams, sacking Matthew Stafford twice, and recording seven total tackles. In the Bengals' Week 5 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, Hendrickson had his best single game performance of the season, recording 2.5 sacks, one was a strip sack resulting in a fumble, as well as six tackles in the game. He had a sack in both the Bengals' Week 6 and 8 games, against the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Hendrickson also forced a fumble in the latter game against the 49ers.
Baltimore Ravens
On March 12, 2026, the Baltimore Ravens signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million contract with $60 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $20 million.
NFL career statistics
Personal life
Hendrickson's father, Collie Hendrickson, played football at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin. Trey Hendrickson majored in criminal justice at Florida Atlantic. He is a Christian.