New NFL Rumors Reveal Ravens' Plan to Pair Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson Before Trade Drama

While many assumed Trey Hendrickson was a fallback option for the Baltimore Ravens, the team had a much different initial vision with the veteran defensive end.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the Ravens agreed to a four-year, $112 million deal with Hendrickson. The move comes after Baltimore backed out of a trade for the Las Vegas Raiders' Maxx Crosby.

Schefter said on Get Up the front office had already been speaking with Hendrickson when the Crosby trade appeared to be a formality. The two would've been paired up on the defensive line.

The situation was also discussed on The Pat McAfee Show:

General manager Eric DeCosta also confirmed that concept to reporters on Wednesday:

The Raiders announced at 8:02 p.m. ET on Tuesday night the Crosby trade was off. Schefter and other NFL insiders reported the Hendrickson deal around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.

It's safe to assume those negotiations started well before Baltimore realized it no longer wanted to bring Crosby aboard.

Having said that, accommodating both sack artists would've been tough given the cost.

Crosby has a $30 million base salary and counts for $35.8 million against the salary cap in 2026. Hendrickson's new contract averages $28 million annually and can climb to $30 million if he hits all of his incentives.

That's a lot of money for the Ravens to tie up in one position, especially when they were $10.3 million over the cap before the free-agent negotiating period opened. Between Crosby and Hendrickson alone, Baltimore would have been spending more on edge defenders ($63.5 million) than any other team.

Perhaps Hendrickson would've accepted a little less if Crosby wound up on the Ravens. He and his agent knew they had more leverage the moment the trade fell apart.

Baltimore tied for the third-fewest sacks (30) in 2025. The team had a clear need to upgrade on the edge, and pairing Crosby and Hendrickson together would've created one of the best pass-rushing combos in the league.

Whether that plan was realistic is a different question.