Packers Reportedly Eyed Trey Hendrickson Trade Before Micah Parsons, Cowboys Deal

The Green Bay Packers reportedly sought to acquire Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who issued a trade request before he and his team came to terms on a reworked deal, before eventually adding edge-rusher Micah Parsons in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

"The Packers are among the teams that called and engaged the most with Cincinnati on a potential trade for Hendrickson this offseason, with an initial offer made for last season's sack leader," Rapoport wrote Saturday.

Parsons eventually went to the Packers for a pair of first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. He then signed a four-year, $186 million contract extension with Green Bay.

Clark would have been included in a potential deal for Hendrickson, per Rapoport, who provided more information, including why talks broke down:

"In fact, standout defensive tackle Kenny Clark would also have been involved in the trade had the two sides come to an agreement, though Green Bay was not willing to part with him at that point in the process.

"Based on Clark's value to Green Bay -- and based on Cincy driving a hard bargain due to how they never really wanted to trade Hendrickson -- the deal never happened."

Hendrickson ultimately earned himself a $14 million raise from $16 million to $30 million. His contract still runs out after this season, but he'll be a Bengal this year after there were serious questions on that front.

It's not hard to see why the Packers had interest in Hendrickson, who has amassed 17.5 sacks in each of his past two seasons. Only one player had more than five sacks for Green Bay last season (Rashan Gary with 7.5).

Simply put, the Packers needed an elite pass-rusher and defensive superstar to take the next step after making the postseason each of the past two years.

Hendrickson didn't work out, but the Packers did get their superstar in Parsons, a two-time First Team All-Pro who has 52.5 lifetime sacks in four seasons. It's a huge win for the Packers as they vastly improve their defense, which already had a talented unit (No. 6 in scoring last year) but just got much better on that end.

Parsons and the Packers begin their season on Sunday at home against the Detroit Lions.