The Ringer NFL Show
Free Agency Matchmaker: Finding Fits for Trey Hendrickson, Mike Evans, and Others!
24 Feb 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main focus of the NFL free agency matchmaking discussion?
Welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I'm your host, Sheil Kapadia. Today, we are doing a little free agency matchmaking. We're looking at a bunch of the top names that could potentially be available in free agency. What's their market gonna look like? What type of salaries and contracts are we talking about? I love doing this exercise every single year.
Chapter 2: Where might Trey Hendrickson fit in the upcoming NFL season?
So we're gonna bring in Deontay Lee from the Ringer. We're gonna go through the free agents, talk about where they might have fits and what they might command. the open market. Let's take a break. We come back with Deontay.
Chapter 3: What are the prospects for Jaelan Phillips in free agency?
All right, welcome back to the Ringer NFL Show. Shiel Kapadia here with my friend Deontay Lee. We're talking free agency. We're looking at the list. We're saying who's interesting, who's not interesting, who's going to get tagged. Where are these guys going to go? How much is it going to cost?
Chapter 4: How will Tyler Linderbaum impact the center market in free agency?
We're going to do that. with a bunch of the big name free agents. Now, if you're wondering, why aren't they talking about George Pickens? That's because Pickens, by all reports, is going to get tagged. And we talked about him last week. So check out that episode if you missed it. And then Kyle Pitts got tagged too by the Atlanta Falcons. So he is off of our initial list as well, Deontay.
Chapter 5: What are the potential outcomes for Daniel Jones in free agency?
Which brings us to Trey Hendrickson, Trey Hendrickson, man. He's just provided so much content over the years. Will the Bengals trade him? Will he get a new deal? Now finally as a free agent entering his age 32 season here. So, um,
Chapter 6: Where could Malik Willis land in the upcoming NFL season?
I'm looking at some of the comps here, and I was looking at Daniil Hunter. He's tricky. And I think that was probably part of the problem with the Bengals, because you look at his age, 32 years old. He missed 10 games last year with a core muscle injury. And now what is he going to get on the open market?
Chapter 7: What teams are interested in Alec Pierce's explosive playmaking?
So Daniil Hunter last offseason was one year younger. I would say probably a better player, although you could probably debate that if you wanted to, from Trey Hendrickson's perspective. But He got over $35 million on a one-year extension. And then TJ Watt in his 30s got $41 million per year on his extension. Now, I don't think that Trey Hendrickson is going to get a deal that rich.
Chapter 8: How do Kenneth Walker III and Breece Hall compare in the running back market?
I could be wrong, but I think it's going to be over $30 million. I'm looking at like the $30 to $33 million per year range, Deontay. So what do you think about Trey Hendrickson's prospects here? Teams looking for pass rush. Who would make sense? And what do you think about his potential market?
Honestly, it kind of sucks for Trey Hendrickson, at least if I were GM, because I'm going to wait. You know, I've got to wait to see if the market depresses a bit before I call it Trey Hendrickson. Not because he's not a useful player, right?
It's just for the last two years, I think he would have commanded a certain market because we've had a few free agency classes that were really light on edge rushers, especially experienced, highly productive guys. Now you're talking about somebody approaching his mid-30s.
I was looking at the same comps you were, where Daniel Hunter and TJ Watt are like at the absolute ceiling, right between 35 to 40. I just don't know if a team is going to put up $40 million per year for a guy like Trey Hendrickson. Again, it has really nothing to do with what level of player you can get out of him. I do think as a designated pass rusher, he can show up and give you 12 sacks.
just about on any team. And we've seen it because he's been playing for one of the worst defenses in the league. And he has been doing what he can to produce in that way. But for me, if I'm a team, I'm saying we can talk if the number is around Nick Benito's 26 million per year, which I think would probably be really disappointing if you're Trey Hendrickson.
I just don't know if I can go north of 30 because all the guys that are above that Benito line, talk about Brian Burns, Josh Hines, Nick Bosa. Those are... defending more of the pass than the run, but they still give you enough balanced play. And where they are in their age curve would suggest that they still have really good years ahead of them.
For Hendrickson, you're probably buying, at best, the last good year of his career. And then you'd have to start preparing for his body to decline as he gets towards 35.
It's a great reminder of how timing is everything with free agency and what age do you actually get to test the open market where the team's not going to tag you, where you're coming off a good year, where you stayed healthy. Like you said, a year ago, if he hits the market, now he's a year younger. He's had 35 sacks over a two-year span.
Now we're probably saying, yeah, he's getting that to Neil Hunter contract for sure. 35 million per year. There's going to be suitors, but a lot changes in one year when you're a year older and that year came with injuries. I'm with you.
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