With the NFL trade deadline coming up on November 4, which is less than a couple of weeks away, FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano and Eric D. Williams decided to take the league’s temperature. They went around asking which positions teams are eyeing the most, and the early signs are pretty telling.

According to Vacchiano, edge rushers and wide receivers are sitting right at the top of everyone’s wish list. And in the process, Vacchiano admitted that the Cincinnati Bengals‘ edge rusher, Trey Hendrickson, is the biggest name ahead of the trade deadline. The real twist, though?

The Bengals don’t seem to be interested in cutting ties with Hendrickson just yet. Per the Bengals’ assistant general manager, “There’s no way they’re (Bengals) trading him (Hendrickson) now. They think they can stay in until (Joe) Burrow returns.” The reasons behind not trading the 30-year-old edge rusher, however, are plenty.

A couple of months after restructuring his deal, Hendrickson still has around $10 million left on his salary for the rest of the season. But despite that hefty tag, he’s become one of the hottest names floating around the trade market.

Rumors are already linking him to a handful of top-tier contenders looking to beef up their pass rush. Think of the Dallas Cowboys with lack of Micah Parsons or the San Francisco 49ers after Nick Bosa’s injury. Which naturally makes you wonder: After months of trade dispute, why aren’t the Bengals interested in trading Trey Hendrickson?

Well, Dianna Russini of The Athletic probably had the answer. “Cincinnati isn’t shopping him, and after the Bengals’ Thursday night win, most do not expect him to get moved,” Russini wrote. Turns out, the Bengals, with Joe Flacco under the center, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31 last Thursday.

In a what-if world, if the Bengals had lost the Week 7 game, they’d be down to 2-5 and looked like a clear seller. However, now that they’re 3-5 and the expectations are sky rise, the narrative around Hendrickson’s trade has been shifted. Long story short: Cincy isn’t expected to trade the 30-year-old until Joe Burrow returns. But that’s not going to stop the trade rumors.

Trey Hendrickson could be an impact defensive player for Dallas

Let’s do this one last time. The edge rusher market this season has absolutely exploded. We’ve already watched some massive contract extensions roll in, and now the spotlight’s shifting to the trade front. The narrative is building perfectly, and at the center of it is the Cowboys.

After sending Parsons to Green Bay, Dallas is in dire need of an edge rusher. While the team’s connected to plenty of names, one actually stands out: The Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson. And ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler added another layer to it.

“The Cowboys — armed with two first-rounders in 2026 and seven picks in total before compensatory selections — also have looked into Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, whom the Bengals don’t plan to deal,” Fowler reported. Besides, the analyst also pointed out that the Las Vegas Raiders‘ Maxx Crosby could be a potential option as well.

But right now, a few factors are shaping how this story’s playing out. For starters, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys clearly have a hole to fill on the edge. And of course, they’ve got the draft capital to make something happen if they really want to. But at the same time, the Bengals don’t seem too eager to move their star pass rusher. At least, not just yet.

That said, there are still a couple of weeks of games remaining before the trade deadline. We’ll see how things work for both teams.