According to ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen, the Indianapolis Colts will make a sizable free agency splash, signing Cincinnati Bengals former All-Pro free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson to boost a stalling edge rush:
Make one more big prediction about this offseason or next season.
Bowen: Trey Hendrickson will sign with the Colts. General Manager Chris Ballard makes a splash move to sign the top free agent on the market. Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024, would immediately upgrade the Indianapolis pass rush.
Of course, it’s not the first time that the 31-year-old Hendrickson, who requested a trade last offseason due to a contract extension impasse with the Bengals, has been frequently connected to the Colts. Specifically, it’s long been speculated that Hendrickson could reunite with his former Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who now holds the same defensive coaching title with the Colts.
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Anarumo coached Hendrickson from 2021-2024 with the Bengals, so there’s already great familiarity there.
This past season, Hendrickson was limited to just 7 starts due to a lingering hip/pelvis injury. He recorded 16 tackles (11 solo), 4.0 sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass defensed.
However, when fully healthy, he’s just a year removed from an NFL First-Team All-Pro nod in 2024 under Anarumo, where he led the league with 17.5 total sacks during all 17 starts that year. A year prior in 2023, Hendrickson also had 17.5 total sacks for Anarumo’s Bengals defense.
Outside of Laiatu Latu, the Colts have a lot of question marks at defensive end, as the trio of Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis are all pending free agents. 2025 2nd round pick JT Tuimoloau appeared in 13 games last season, recording 17 tackles and no sacks.
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While Latu led the Colts with 8.5 total sacks, no other Colts defender had more than 4.0 total sacks.
It was a Colts defense that collectively ranked 15th in total sacks with 39.0 total sacks. Per ESPN analytics, the Colts ranked just 30th in pass rush win rate (29%) this past season.
Armed with $35.6M of projected team salary cap space right now, the Colts would have to get a bit creative to bring in Hendrickson, if they’re also looking to re-sign priority free agents such as Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce.
However, it’s not impossible that Hendrickson and Anarumo could reunite in Indianapolis again.
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