Sad News: Lions Fans Dealt Disappointing News on $76.4 Million Star
The Detroit Lions have had an exciting offseason after a frustrating end to the 2024 season. High expectations were ruined by a season defined by key injuries. This included losing the team’s star pass rusher before the games mattered most. It was a devastating blow. Still, there is reason for excitement as the team turns the page and hopes for far better injury luck in the 2025 season.
While the Lions have been active in free agency, the team hasn’t made an incredibly splashy addition. There was a level of speculation that this was due to the team’s hopes of landing a star. Current Bengal Trey Hendrickson was pointed to as an obvious target that would make the Detroit defense incredibly exciting. Adding Hendrickson to an already talented core would give fans a true reason to believe this is the season the Super Bowl curse ends.
Detroit Lions Fans Hoping to Land Trey Hendrickson are Destined for Disappointment
A report emerged early this week that the Lions would not be among the teams attempting to chase after the star pass rusher. In some ways, this isn’t a surprise when you consider Detroit’s stress on bringing in draft classes to impact the team from year one. It is an organization that has turned the page on years of frustration from poor choices on draft day.
Giving up the picks it would take to land Hendrickson, only to turn and pay the veteran top dollar, is an incredible risk. One the Lions don’t need to take to be considered among the league’s best teams. Still, it is tempting to chase after the 2024 sack leader when you consider the potential impact.
If Hendrickson’s ugly offseason standoff with Cincy continues, the veteran seems destined to be traded. If things were to grow bad enough, perhaps a team wouldn’t have to part ways with the treasure trove of picks a player of Hendrickson’s talent would typically demand.
Still, you would need to meet the contract demands that have caused this rift in the first place. It puts Detroit at risk of not having enough cap space to pay its own stars in the future. There should also be a level of concern about possible regression for a veteran player who has just finished the two best seasons of his career. With all of this in mind, perhaps it isn’t the worst choice for the franchise to opt to continue to look in another direction, not risking a possible overpay for the Bengals star.
