Trey Hendrickson landing with the Indianapolis Colts in free agency makes a lot of sense. The team has a natural connection to the edge rusher as defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo coached Hendrickson when both were with the Cincinnati Bengals. Hendrickson's best seasons were played under Anarumo.
Indy also is desperate need for a high-end pass rusher. Only Laiatu Latu was somewhat consistent for Indy this season. His 8.5 sacks were more than double any other Colts player. Hendrickson only had four sacks this season, but he also played in just seven games. He is capable of dwarfing the production of most other edge rushers.
According to CBS Sports' Jared Dubin, though, Indy might lose out on the edge rusher in free agency to the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas also needs an edge rusher, but has one huge advantage over Indianapolis: Money. Dallas has negative cap space, currently, but can easily shed a lot of cash. Indy already knows how they should spend their projected $33 million.
Dallas Cowboys might have the advantage over the Indianapolis Colts in adding Trey Hendrickson
Indianapolis needs to re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce, and that will quickly eat up much of the Colts' cap room, and that is before filling out the rest of the roster, including signing draft picks and signing players to the practice squad.
Moreover, according to Spotrac, Hendrickson has a market value of $25 million a season over the next two years. The Colts cannot afford to re-sign Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce while also signing Trey Hendrickson. One key question could be whether general manager Chris Ballard might value potentially signing the edge rusher over the wide receiver.
Dubin does have Indy as team 1B for Hendrickson, but the gap between the Cowboys and Colts is likely great. Plus, Hendrickson is not without his risks. He will turn 32 years old during the 2026 season, and he is just off a season in which he missed 10 games. His future health could be a real question mark.
Still, Lou Anarumo knows better than anyone else how to use Trey Hendrickson. He had back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons in 2023 and 2024, and is likely to rebound health-wise in 2026 as he doesn't have a long history of getting hurt.
An Indianapolis Colts defense with the addition of Hendrickson to a unit with Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward, and DeForest Buckner should be scary for opponents. If Indy's defense is even better and the offense can revert to the form it had in the first half of 2025, the Colts will be a playoff team next season.