Nfl Free Agency Grade: After Maxx Crosby Controversy, Ravens Add Trey Hendrickson

The Baltimore Ravens didn’t even wait a full 24 hours.

When the Ravens backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade on Tuesday night, everyone seemed to piece together the next move: Baltimore would sign defensive end Trey Hendrickson, the top free agent on the market. And a little more than 12 hours after the Crosby trade was called off, the Ravens did sign Hendrickson.

It’s a controversy that will live for a long time. Even if they did have actual reasons to get out of the Crosby trade with the Las Vegas Raiders due to his physical, the optics are bad. It will be believed forever that they had Hendrickson — oddly unsigned in the initial flurry of activity to begin NFL free agency — lined up and figured they could keep the two first-round picks they had agreed to trade to the Raiders and just sign another defensive end who was the top free agent in the class.

Regardless of how it went down, it is a positive result for the Ravens on the field. And it’s good for Hendrickson too, considering he got $112 million over four years, according to NFL Media. That’s the type of huge long-term deal he wanted with the Cincinnati Bengals and couldn’t get. For the Ravens, it’s less than the $120 million Jaelan Phillips got from the Carolina Panthers.

Part of that discount is age. Hendrickson is 31 years old and coming off an injury-filled season. Before that, however, Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in each of the previous two seasons. He is an excellent pass rusher. He should return to being one of the top defensive ends in the NFL this season.

And the Ravens keep a pair of first-round picks.

Hendrickson stops the bleeding for the Ravens, who had lost many high-priced players to start free agency. He should have some good seasons left, though it seems hard to believe he’ll be worth the contract on the final season or two of it.

If you want to dock the Ravens for what appears to be some underhanded dealing, that’s fine. We are just going to look at what the Ravens gained in the Hendrickson signing here, and that’s the type of free agent who rarely hits the open market. Hendrickson has the ability to be a candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and that’s hard to find in free agency. He didn’t even get a contract that puts him at the top of the line among pass rushers, though the risk of his age has to be considered as well.

However we got to this point, the Ravens just signed the top free agent on the market at a position of need. That, in a vacuum, is a huge move for them. Now, you may continue with the angst toward the Ravens.

Grade: A