The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears may have rekindled their rivalry in 2024. The teams split their season series, but Chicago was just a blocked field goal away from sweeping Green Bay. On the other hand, Green Bay rested most of its starters for their Week 18 matchup at Lambeau Field.
As they head into 2025, the Packers are coming off consecutive playoff appearances, while the Bears have secured what they hope is their long-term head coach.
Now, both teams could find themselves competing for the same AFC playmaker.
Report: Packers And Bears Heavily Linked To Same AFC Star (Trade Report)
The Packers are on the verge of competing for a championship in an incredibly tough league. The 2024 season showed that while their roster had plenty of good players, it lacked enough elite talent.
On Thursday, Richard Louis of FanSided highlighted that Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson had previously been mentioned in trade rumors and strongly encouraged Green Bay to pursue him.
“Green Bay desperately needs a dominant pass rusher, and the 30-year-old Hendrickson would be an outstanding addition,” Louis wrote.
“He requested a trade last year, but it wasn’t granted. If the Bengals don’t meet his contract demands, he’ll likely do so again, and the Packers should make every effort to bring him to Titletown.”
The Chicago Bears Are Linked To The Same Playmaker
The Chicago Bears are a strong contender to acquire Hendrickson, provided they’re willing to meet his price. With ample salary-cap space, they can afford to offer him the contract he desires, and they possess the 2025 NFL Draft assets necessary to strike a deal that would satisfy the Bengals.
Cincinnati would likely accept two second-round picks in exchange for Hendrickson, and the Bears happen to have two in that round. However, it might not even require that much—if Poles were to offer a second and a fourth-round pick, a trade could very well happen.
Pairing Sweat and Hendrickson as a pass-rushing duo would be an exciting prospect for Bears fans, and it’s a realistic possibility if Chicago chooses to pursue it.
It remains to be seen whether Cincinnati will part ways with the veteran edge rusher. If they do, one of the NFL’s longest-standing rivalries could become the backdrop for a competitive bidding war. Here’s a look at Hendrickson’s career trajectory:
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Tackles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | IntTD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | FRTD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sfty | AV | Awards |
| 2017 | 23 | NOR | NFL | LB | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 24 | NOR | NFL | LB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 25 | NOR | NFL | LB | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 26 | NOR | NFL | RDE | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 12 | 25 | 0 | 9 | |
| 2021 | 27 | CIN | NFL | RDE | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 | 34 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 11 | PB |
| 2022 | 28 | CIN | NFL | RDE | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 32 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 12 | PB |
| 2023 | 29 | CIN | NFL | DE | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 | 43 | 28 | 15 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 11 | PB |
| 2024 | 30 | CIN | NFL | DE | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 | 46 | 33 | 13 | 19 | 36 | 0 | 15 | PB,AP-1 |
| 8 Yrs | 110 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77.0 | 220 | 151 | 69 | 71 | 155 | 0 | 62 | |||||
| 17 Game Avg | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 0 | 10 | |||||
| CIN (4 Yrs) | 65 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57.0 | 155 | 104 | 51 | 53 | 112 | 0 | 49 | |||||
| NOR (4 Yrs) | 45 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 | 65 | 47 | 18 | 18 | 43 | 0 | ||||||
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