It's one thing to move on from a star player, but the Cincinnati Bengals let defensive end Trey Hendrickson walk for nothing more than a future compensatory draft pick in return this offseason. The 31-year-old agreed to a four-year, $112 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Hendrickson is now with Cincinnati's division rival, so he'll play his former squad twice a year barring injury. The 2024 first-team All-Pro is coming off an injury-shortened season, but had 35 sacks across 34 games the previous two years combined.

The Bengals could have given Hendrickson a contract extension over the last couple of offseasons, but the two sides never agreed to terms. Additionally, they didn't franchise tag the four-time Pro Bowler this year, allowing him to hit the open market.

Cincinnati gets a third-round 2027 compensatory pick for letting Hendrickson walk, per Over the Cap's Nick Korte.

Getting a future third-round pick for a player of Hendrickson's caliber is risky business. It's unlikely that whoever Cincinnati drafts with that selection will come close to the star's NFL success, especially when considering the team's best third-round compensatory picks historically, via Bengals On the Brain's Joe Goodberry:

Johnson was a consistent starter at linebacker for four years in Cincinnati, but not much else of note happened with the other players on that list. That pales in comparison to Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024 and had 61 sacks across 72 games with the team. 

The main benefit is getting Hendrickson's salary off the books, as the Bengals paid him $29 million last season after giving him a $14 million raise. So far, they've used that flexibility to sign fellow edge rusher Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook. Maye, who has 20 sacks over four years thus far, agreed to a three-year deal with Cincinnati, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Cook, who was ranked the fifth-best safety by Pro Football Focus last season, agreed to a three-year, $42.5 million contract, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. 

That's a good start, but the Bengals need more help to fix a defense that finished 30th in scoring last season. Plus, they could stand to add offensive line depth given that they'll face Hendrickson, Cleveland Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett, and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker twice a year. Franchise quarterback Joe Burrow has had injury-shortened campaigns in two of the last three seasons, so they need to protect him as much as possible.

There's a difference between wanting to move on from an aging star and letting him go to a division rival for little in return. Cincinnati could have aggressively shopped Hendrickson before his contract expired, or franchise tagged him this year and shopped him then. That way, it could've sent him outside of the division.

Now, the Bengals must hope that their decision doesn't come back to bite them.