Welp, Trey Hendrickson won’t be joining the Buffalo Bills this offseason. That became clear Wednesday morning, when the veteran defender agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $120 million with the Baltimore Ravens. This all came after Baltimore flipped the NFL on its head by pulling out of a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby, citing a failed physical.
Hendrickson joining the Ravens is bad news for the Bills, because it means he isn’t coming to Buffalo. To make matters worse, the Bills were reportedly close to getting a deal done. On Wednesday, NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler revealed that Buffalo, the Indianapolis Colts, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Washington Commanders, and the Philadelphia Eagles were all talking to Hendrickson before the Ravens ultimately won.
Losing out on the star defender is tough enough, but no team wants to be known for almost moves.
The Colts, Bills, Bucs, Commanders and Eagles all were involved in Trey Hendrickson's free agency before the All-Pro agreed to terms with the Ravens, per sources.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 11, 2026
The Colts felt like they were close at one point.
The Eagles got involved late.
Tampa pursued but on a… pic.twitter.com/LPuAONjbQv
Bills were in on Trey Hendrickson before he joined Ravens
It’s no secret that that Buffalo needs defensive line help, and Hendrickson would have been the perfect solution. The veteran defender recorded 17.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, before playing just seven games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2025 because of injuries. However, he’s expected to be healthy and productive in 2026.
As Fowler pointed out, the Bills were able to offer Hendrickson the opportunity to join a contender, which is something that’s important to him. However, he gets that with the Baltimore Ravens, and as Fowler explained it, on a likely bigger deal than what Buffalo was offering. The Bills probably weren’t willing to offer Hendrickson $28 million a year, for the next four years, with additional incentives.
That's why Baltimore won the sweepstakes, and why the Bills must pivot. Who Buffalo pivots to isn’t exactly clear. With Maxx Crosby back in Las Vegas, the Bills could reach out to the Raiders about a trade, but there will be questions about if the team is willing to pay the steep price that Vegas will still demand. Whatever path the Bills go down, they must be aggressive for the rest of the offseason, as they try to build their roster into a team capable of winning a Super Bowl.