The Washington Commanders traded for former Pro Bowl wide receiver Deebo Samuel around this time a week ago and according to The Athletic’s Diana Russini, they’re now exploring a trade for Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson.

According to Russini, an NFL executive told her the Bengals are seeking “significant trade compensation in return”, which will make this a lot harder to pull off than the Samuel trade due to the fact he only cost Adam Peters a fifth-rounder and the Commanders now have just six draft picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL draft. To make things even more dire – three of those six selections are among the first 205 picks of the draft.

Washington has a pick in each of the first three rounds at Nos. 29, 61, and 79, so “significant compensation” would nearly wipe those out, or, Peters may have to send a high-up 2026 pick that ups in value based off Hendrickson’s 2025 performance.

Plus, the Commanders will likely have to extend Hendrickson, as a big part of his trade drama with the Bengals stems from his desire for a new deal. Coming off back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks, that’s going to be a rather large sum of money. Especially for a player playing in his age-30 season.

There’s a very enticing option other than Hendrickson and he won’t cost the Commanders as near as much capital

There will be a lot more thought involved in this process and honestly, it’s in the Commanders best interest to look elsewhere. When it comes to the required draft capital to trade for him, plus his new deal, it’s just too expensive no matter how good he is.

The Bengals do two things very consistently. They undervalue their own great players who want to get paid, and they overvalue those same players when they want to be traded. Cincinnati didn’t come close to offering Hendrickson fair value in a contract, yet they’re still eyeing a first round pick in return if they trade him to a team like the Commanders, who pick late in the first round. It’s a constant need to win the deal, whatever deal it may be, and it almost never gets them anywhere. – John Sheeran, A to Z Cincinnati

There’s certainly a viable option that’s slated to hit free agency, however, and that’s Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo.

Odeyingbo won’t come cheap – he’s expected to rake in a deal around $20 million per year. However, that’s going to be less than both what Hendrickson is making in 2025 and what his extension will look like. Plus, the Commanders won’t have to give up any draft capital to acquire the former second-round pick.

With just 16.5 sacks over four seasons, Odeyingbo has nowhere near the same resume as Hendrickson, but the key with the soon-to-be fifth-year player is he has all the traits and intangibles in the world to become a premier pass rusher. Plus he’s entering his prime at 25-years-old, which is always a big deal.

He’d be the perfect replacement for Clelin Ferrell, who is an impending free agent and didn’t really do much last year. At 6-foot-6, 286-pounds and with outstanding length, he can line up all across the defensive and wreak havoc. That would allow Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. to continue to develop and deploy their multiple looks up front that tend to give opposing offenses fits.

And most importantly: Odeyingbo’s character is off the charts, which is the foremost priority for Peters and Quinn. He’s an excellent teammate and a guy that is willing to do anything and everything needed to help his respective team have success.

Don’t get me wrong – Hendrickson would be a great move for Washington, but his circumstances are just too much at the end of the day. Odeyingbo makes a lot more sense in both the short- and long-term, so it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out once all the cards are on the table.