Why Patriots Should Not Sign Trey Hendrickson — and more

Why Patriots Should Not Sign Trey Hendrickson originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New England Patriots should be looking to add to their pass rush this offseason, but should not be fooled by some big names on the market.

Trey Hendrickson is a player the Patriots should avoid, even though on paper, he may seem like a phenomenal addition. He has been in a contract dispute with the Cincinnati Bengals for a couple of years now, and may finally be wearing a different jersey next season. However, despite his track record of success, he may not be worth it.

He is still looking to get paid after the Bengals ended up coming to short-term resolutions with him the last couple of years. He has 81 career sacks and led the NFL in sacks in 2024. However, he will turn 32 in December and missed most of last season thanks to an injury. He is an aging player who is going to cost plenty of money, coming off a poor year.

Some team is going to pay Hendrickson what he wants. However, the Patriots have a solid team and are not reportedly operating like a team that feels it needs to spend big to win the Super Bowl right now. The pass rush needs to be addressed, but there are options besides Hendrickson.

If the Patriots are going to invest in a pass rusher, it would be wise to spend on a younger player. Maxx Crosby is a name to watch in trade rumors. In free agency, Jaelan Phillips, Boye Mafe and Odafe Oweh are young players who could be solid additions. If the Patriots are not overly enthused by free agent options, the NFL Draft could provide them with a young pass rusher.

Regardless, the point is that Hendrickson may no longer be worth what he is looking for in guarantees. The four-time Pro Bowler and 2024 First-Team All-Pro is a great player, but did not do himself any favors last season. Signing him is not a risk the Patriots need to take right now, especially with needs elsewhere on the roster as well.

We’re back today to get you caught up on the latest from Syracuse’s Olympic Sports as winter sports hit championship season.

Ice Hockey (14-16-4, 10-11-3):

Syracuse’s season came to an end with a 2-0 series loss to #3 Penn State. The Nittany Lions dominated game 1 with a 7-1 rout, but the Orange pushed them in game 2 before falling by a 2-1 score. Jackson Kinsler scored the lone Syracuse goal while Ava Drabyk made 28 saves in game 2- limiting the powerful Penn State offense to just two goals.

The Orange have a solid piece to build around in Drabyk, who had an outstanding first season. Can they find more scoring and improve the special teams? Syracuse averaged under 2 goals per game this season and their power play was 6th in the AHA while the penalty kill was last. Without a billionaire funding the program, the Orange need to find ways to win in the margins and improving the special teams will be key.

Softball (10-6):

Syracuse went 3-1 at the Terrapin Classic with wins over Fairfield, UMBC and Providence. This triple from Gabby Lantier helped the Orange close out the weekend on a winning note over the Friars.

The Orange head back to Maryland next weekend to compete in the UMBC Tournament in Baltimore.

Track and Field:

Jamir Brown’s 2nd place finish in the 60m hurdles in a time of 7.56 seconds was the top Syracuse performance at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The other scorer for the men was Drew Zundell, who placed 8th in the mile in a time of 4:06.

For the Orange women, Talea Buxton (8.29) took 4th in the 60m hurdles while Tia Outlaw was 8th in a time of 8.50. Both teams finished in 16th place in the team competition, which were won by the Florida State men and Clemson women.

Tennis (5-5, 1-2):

Syracuse got their 1st ACC win with a 5-0 sweep over Boston College. Anastasia Sysoeva and Nelly Knezkova were able to secure the doubles point and then the Orange swept the singles matches.

The Orange will be back home next Sunday to take on SMU with an 11:00 am start at Drumlins

Check out The Feed for this week’s schedule of Syracuse games. We’ll have more updates next week.

The Dallas Cowboys chose to place the franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens last Friday and it was something that just about everybody was expecting.

It happening in an official capacity was noteworthy though and sets up the next part of negotiations between the team and player. Dallas placed the non-exclusive tag on Pickens which means that he is free to negotiate with another team. Should another team offer Pickens a deal then the Cowboys have the right of first refusal, and if they choose to decline it the offering team would owe them a pair of first-round picks.

This whole process allows Pickens to test and gauge the market and provides an important point of protection for the Cowboys. It feels pretty win-win all the way around, but we are curious to hear what the rest of the class thinks.

Are you happy with how this has unfolded? Is there something you wish was different? Why?

Let us know what you think in the comments down below.