GREEN BAY, Wis. – With five veterans signed in free agency and eight rookies selected in the draft, the Green Bay Packers appear to have completed the bulk of their offseason roster moves.
Or maybe not.
A major unresolved issue remains: the future of former All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander, whose status with the team has been uncertain since the 2024 season ended over four months ago.
At the same time, there’s still a marquee player available on the veteran market—Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
The Packers didn’t do much to boost their pass rush in the draft and ignored it entirely in free agency. Hendrickson, unhappy with his current contract, has declared he won’t play under the existing terms. The Bengals, meanwhile, have stopped communication with him.
“It’s become personal, unfortunately,” Hendrickson said last week.
According to ESPN analyst and former Packers safety Matt Bowen, Green Bay would be the ideal destination for Hendrickson in a potential trade.
“This would be a major addition for the Packers’ defense,” Bowen said.
While Green Bay ranked eighth in the league in sacks last season, they were below average in quarterback pressures.
Hendrickson led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last season and, alongside Myles Garrett, topped the league with 83 pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
By contrast, Green Bay’s top defensive ends—Rashan Gary (7.5 sacks, 47 pressures), Kingsley Enagbare (4.5 sacks, 25 pressures), and Lukas Van Ness (3 sacks, 20 pressures)—combined for 15 sacks and 92 pressures.
“Hendrickson was allowed to seek a trade back in March, but won’t return to the Bengals without a new contract,” Bowen wrote. “If a deal can’t be reached, Green Bay makes a lot of sense. He’d be a great fit alongside Rashan Gary in Jeff Hafley’s defense. With Van Ness still developing, there’s room to add a proven edge rusher.”
Hendrickson is coming off back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons—something only Reggie White has done for three straight years. In NFL history, only White, J.J. Watt, and Mark Gastineau have recorded three such seasons.
Turning 31 in December, Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract and is set to earn $15.8 million in 2025. He currently ranks 11th in average salary among edge rushers, but with players like Garrett and Maxx Crosby signing massive deals recently, and Micah Parsons due for a big payday, Hendrickson feels underpaid.
“I’m not going to apologize for the going rate for defensive ends in the NFL,” he said.
Landing Hendrickson won’t be cheap. The Bengals want value in return, and Hendrickson expects a deal reflecting the market.
Green Bay is projected to be about $11.6 million over the 2025 salary cap, according to OverTheCap.com, not including possible extensions for players like Quay Walker and Zach Tom—or the impact of a deep free-agent class.
One major way to clear cap space could be trading Jaire Alexander, which would remove his 2025 and 2026 base salaries of $16.15 million and $18.15 million from the books.
So far, no decision has been made on Alexander’s future with the team. His recurring injuries and hefty contract make him a trade candidate, though his skillset is hard to replace.
If Alexander is moved, the Los Angeles Chargers are seen as the most logical landing spot. Alexander was a second-team All-Pro in 2022 with five interceptions. But over the past two seasons—playing just 14 games—he’s managed only two picks. Both came last year, when his seven pass breakups tied Keisean Nixon for the team lead. Nixon, however, played nearly three times as many snaps.
Leave a Reply