Baltimore behaved erratically throughout the first week of free agency, responding to a higher-than-usual exodus of players by canceling the Crosby deal before throwing significant money at Hendrickson, another player who, like Crosby, is coming off a season-ending injury. Unlike Crosby, though, Hendrickson is further along on his timeline toward returning to the field.
In fact, he said on Friday that he had been cleared for football since January. That revelation, plus Hendrickson’s production history — including two straight 17.5-sack seasons in 2023 and 2024 — sold DeCosta on the big ticket.
“I think there’s a lot of factors that go into it,” DeCosta explained when asked why now is the time to give a veteran like Hendrickson a big deal. “This year we actually had a bit of a nest egg.
“Just looking at it, we felt like the guys that we probably wanted the most in the draft were gone, maybe, before (No.) 14. That’s usually what happens. We felt like this was the year to take a big swing. We saw some players that we thought could make an impact for us, Trey’s one of the main guys. I love when you’re playing with a player that’s really with me. Trey’s always been somebody that really impressed me about them materials.”
DeCosta noted that he didn’t find satisfaction in picking up Hendrickson from Cincinnati, but was instead excited to add a “hell of a player” and a “power multiplier” in Hendrickson to Baltimore’s roster. He also admitted he was both disappointed and proud of the players who left Charm City for new opportunities elsewhere.
This loss is officially in the past. Although the work is far from done, Hendrickson’s arrival signals DeCosta’s intent to best position the Ravens to chase the Lombardi Trophy.
Hendrickson can’t wait to start in the same league he’s known since 2021.
“It’s ugly football and that’s the kind of football I like,” he said.