Would Bucs Trade For Trey Hendrickson To Bolster Pass Rush?

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson – Photo by: USA Today

Managing your family’s wealth means more to Amuni Financial than simply allocating your assets. It means legacy planning, brokerage & advisory services, retirement accounts, college savings accounts and insurance services. With 40 years of experience, let Amuni Financial help you plan ahead and stay ahead.

Call Amuni Financial at (800) 868-6864 or visit Amuni.com.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: I’m concerned about out depth at OLB. Would the Bucs trade for Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson?

ANSWER: I don’t think Bucs general manager Jason Licht would pursue a trade for Hendrickson right now for several reasons. First of all, the Bengals reportedly want a first-round pick for Hendrickson, who turns 31 in December, or at least an offer that had multiple Day 2 picks. Licht covets his draft picks because of his outstanding record of nailing picks, especially in the first round. A first-round hit on a player, which comes cheaper initially with a lesser rookie contract, could mean the addition of a star for a decade in Tampa Bay, whereas Hendrickson is a very short-term investment due to his age.

Looking at the careers of several top pass rushers in Tampa Bay from Simeon Rice to Jason Pierre-Paul to Shaq Barrett, 33 is usually the age of decline for most edge rushers. For Rice and Pierre-Paul, that age was their last full season in the NFL, and their last truly productive season came when each was 31. Barrett turns 33 in November and his last good year with the Bucs was at age 30. Free agent Matt Judon just turned 33 and the Falcons moved on from him after a sub-par year. His last really productive season was in New England at age 30.

Then the Bucs would have to pay an aging, yet very productive, player a king’s ransom. Pittsburgh gave T.J. Watt, who turns 31 in October, a three-year, $123 million contract worth $41 million per season with $108 million of that deal guaranteed. That is a massive contract for a player whose game could fall off the cliff at any moment given his age. Watt had 19 sacks and four forced fumbles in 2023 and 11.5 sacks and six forced fumbles last year.

Hendrickson has had back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks and has totaled five forced fumbles over the past two seasons. He’s under contract for 2025 for $15.8 million in base salary. The Bucs could create the cap room to do a deal like this, and if Hendrickson helps the team win the Super Bowl, it would be worth it. But it’s a massive risk given the compensation and the contract the Bucs would have to provide – even if he would be a great locker room addition.

Another issue is the fact that there are multiple teams reportedly interested in Hendrickson, including Carolina. The more teams that are interested in the four-time Pro Bowler means that the trade compensation number could be driven up in a bidding war. I’m not sure the Bucs would want any part of that. Licht has not made a blockbuster trade before involving premium draft picks. It only took a third-round pick in 2018 to acquire Pierre-Paul from the Giants in 2018.

If Tampa Bay were to trade for him, Hendrickson would naturally be the starter opposite Haason Reddick and that would relegate Yaya Diaby, who is in his third year, to the role of a backup. That might not be ideal because the Bucs feel like Diaby is a starting-caliber edge rusher, although not at Hendrickson’s level right now. So Tampa Bay does not want to stunt Diaby’s growth in this pivotal season.

Another Pro Bowl pass rusher, Dallas’ Micah Parsons, would probably cost even more in compensation because he’s only 26. But Parsons might not be a fit in Tampa Bay’s team-oriented culture the way Hendrickson would.

What I think Licht will do – and needs to do – is instead look for options in free agency and the waiver wire. Licht has found a pair of defensive ends on the waiver wire before in Jacquies Smith in 2014 and Carl Nassib in 2018. Smith had 6.5 sacks as a rookie in 2014 and seven sacks the next season, while Nassib had 6.5 and six-sack seasons as a part-time starter in 2018 and 2019.

Free agents Jadeveon Clowney and Za’Darius Smith might still be productive, but remain unsigned due to their age. Clowney, who played with the Panthers last year and recorded 5.5 sacks, is 32, while Smith turns 33 in September and had 9.5 sacks with the Lions. There are some rumors that Smith could return to Detroit on a one-year deal where he would share starting duties with Marcus Davenport opposite Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson.

QUESTION: How high percentage-wise is the chance the Bucs get a new OLB3 before the season begins?

ANSWER: It should be pretty high. I referenced the options for the team to acquire another outside linebacker in the previous question. Going into 2025 banking on Haason Reddick and Yaya Diaby remaining healthy and productive for an entire season is a risk by itself. But given the fact that there is not another quality pass rusher at outside linebacker behind them on the second unit can’t be acceptable for general manager Jason Licht.

Chris Braswell had 1.5 sacks as a rookie and has looked average at best during the preseason and training camp. Hoping that the former second-round pick can blossom in his second year is risky, as hope is not a strategy. Veteran reserve Anthony Nelson is better suited to be OLB4 or OLB5 on the depth chart – not OLB3. That role was going to rookie David Walker, the team’s fourth-round pick, before a torn ACL early in camp prematurely ended his first season in Tampa Bay.

The Bucs know they have a Super Bowl-ready roster. That was clear with the team’s decision to fortify the wide receiver position with first-round pick Emeka Egbuka and seventh-rounder Tez Johnson given Chris Godwin’s ankle injury, in addition to signing veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to serve as a backup to Baker Mayfield. Licht must do the same thing and find another capable edge rusher – likely one with experience – to bolster the position in case something happens to Reddick or Diaby.

Tampa Bay added two new edge rushers this offseason in Reddick and Walker. Now Walker must be replaced. Markees Watts, Jose Ramirez and rookie Warren Peeples Jr. look more like practice squad options and not roster-worthy. None of them have really shined consistently in camp or the preseason.

QUESTION: Hey Scott, can you explain why Joey Porter Jr.’s hit on Jalen McMillan wasn’t a flag for a hit on a defenseless receiver? Also, I’m starting to think both Nick Jackson and John Bullock deserve to be on the 53-man roster over Deion Jones at ILB. Mostly just because I want to keep them.

ANSWER: The reason why Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. wasn’t flagged for targeting a defensive receiver on his hit on Jalen McMillan was because he went for the legs and not McMillan’s head. It was a clean tackle attempt that just went awry when McMillan turned upside from the hit and landed awkwardly on his head, neck and upper back. Although it looked bad, it doesn’t seem like a serious injury and the hope is that McMillan can return by Week 1.

I’m not sure the Bucs will keep both Nick Jackson and John Bullock on the 53-man roster. With another good showing in the third and final preseason game, there might be room for one of those talented rookies to force his way on the roster as a fifth inside linebacker. Jackson is the better athlete and has two sacks and an interception in the preseason, in addition to a team-high eight tackles. He has a better chance of making the team, while Bullock would be a great developmental linebacker on the practice squad.

I believe the team likes Deion Jones for his experience and will want to keep him on the roster. Especially given the fact that veteran newcomer Anthony Walker Jr. has missed all of training camp and the preseason with a lower body injury.

QUESTION: How are you liking Garrett Greene’s chance of making the roster?

ANSWER: I don’t think Garrett Greene makes the 53-man roster. The undrafted free agent wide receiver is making the transition from throwing passes as a quarterback at West Virginia to catching them in his rookie season. He’s a work in progress, although he is an intriguing athlete, who has a good football I.Q. and has shown to have to have good hands.

Greene seems like an ideal candidate for the practice squad given his lack of experience running routes. He needs to learn the nuances of playing wide receiver for at least a year from Bryan McClendon. But he does have a nice skill set, including the agility and quickness to be a punt returner. I think fellow rookie Tez Johnson ultimately wins the punt return duty, but Greene would be a nice backup option on the practice squad.

Chris Godwin, who is still recovering from ankle surgery, will make the initial 53-man roster for one day and will then be placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list that will cause him to miss at least the first four games of the season. Tampa Bay will want at least five receivers on the roster heading into Atlanta in Week 1. As of right now, I would think those five receivers would be Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Johnson and probably Ryan Miller given his experience from playing in a handful of games last year.

Sterling Shepard will start the year on the practice squad because he’s a vested veteran. If a vested veteran is on a team’s active roster on Week 1, then that player’s base salary is fully guaranteed for that year. So look for Shepard to be the practice squad in Week 1, but then be elevated to the active roster for the Falcons game. Shepard would likely be active in Atlanta in place of Miller unless the Bucs needed Miller on special teams or offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard wanted six receivers active for Week 1.

QUESTION: Any chance the team tries Elijah Roberts at edge?

ANSWER: No, the Bucs are committed to having Elijah Roberts learn – and play – defensive tackle as a rookie. That’s going to be his position in the NFL given his 6-foot-4, 290-pound size. Roberts played defensive end at SMU and was one of the nation’s better pass rushers over the last two seasons. But he plays with more power than he does speed or agility. Given the fact that outside linebackers are asked to drop into coverage in zone blitzes in Todd Bowles’ scheme, it’s unlikely he has the skill set for that.

Yet don’t be surprised if Roberts gets a few snaps on the edge during his rookie season in some funky alignments. From time to time, we’ve seen Bowles mix up his fronts and play defensive tackles Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea on the edge. Given Roberts’ past success there I’m sure Bowles would consider giving him a few reps at his former position.

Even if Roberts slimmed down to 270-275 this year, I’m not sure he would make an ideal 3-4 outside linebacker candidate. He’s not as fast and as athletic as Yaya Diaby is. Roberts could play defensive end in a 4-3 defense like the kind that New Orleans runs with bigger bodies on the edge.

QUESTION: I feel like there are certain guys making it difficult for the staff to try and land them on the practice squad without teams snatching them up. Can you give some insight into the following players: ILB Nick Jackson, RB Josh Williams (limited time, but he showed some splash) and Garrett Greene (maybe as a PR specialist behind Tez Johnson). Also, is it safe to say that Jacob Parrish has locked up the NCB spot? I feel like we should be calling him PBU Parrish.