ss Breaking News: With Aidan Hutchinson’s jaw-dropping $140M deal locked in, the Cowboys are now eyeing Trey Hendrickson — a relentless All-Pro pass rusher who could completely transform Dallas’ defense and give Dak Prescott the breakout season fans have been waiting for!
The Dallas Cowboys need to make a decision before the NFL trade deadline, one way or another. Either accept that the defense can’t be saved and the season is lost, or attempt to salvage arguably the best season of Dak Prescott’s career and support one of the league’s premier offenses.
Nobody sells hope more than Jerry Jones, so it wouldn’t be shocking if the Cowboys swung a major trade between now and the November 4 deadline. That would require Jones picking up the phone instead of waiting around for it to ring, but the 83-year-old was just handed a notable lifeline on the trade front following a ground-breaking NFL extension.
The Lions and star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson agreed to terms on a four-year, $140 million extension. It’s worth $45 million per year and $141 million in total guarantees, which is a record. Previously mentioned as a trade suitor for Trey Hendrickson, it stands to reason that Detroit is now out of the running for the Bengals’ All-Pro.
Cowboys gifted a Trey Hendrickson lifeline thanks to Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson extension
The vast majority of Cowboys fans are torn over whether the team should give up assets to improve a defense that needs a complete overhaul.
Hendrickson will turn 31 in December, but he would still potentially cost up to a second-round pick because of his pedigree.
Since 2021, only Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt have more sacks than Hendrickson’s 74, and Hendrickson has been more efficient down-to-down than Watt in terms of pass-rush win rate. He’s made a Pro Bowl every year during that span, culminating in a first-team All-Pro nod last year after leading the league with 17.5 sacks, while ranking third with 83 pressures and tying for third with a 20.0 percent pass-rush win rate, per Pro Football Focus.
Hendrickson wouldn’t fix everything, and he certainly wouldn’t mask the flaws of Matt Eberflus, but he would give Dallas a needed juice off the edge. With rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku rounding into form, the Cowboys could cobble together a competent pass rush if they add Hendrickson. That will only make life easier on a secondary that is bereft of talent and depleted by injury.
Hendrickson will need a new contract after the season, but he won’t cost more than $35 million annually because of his age. If the Cowboys are serious about maximizing their window with Dak Prescott, trading for Hendrickson would bring them that much closer to contention, and it would check one thing off the offseason to-do list.
The door is wide open following the Hutchinson news.
