When Trey Hendrickson first signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021, he came just one step short of hoisting his first Lombardi Trophy as the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. Now the veteran edge rusher has signed with the Baltimore Ravens. And while it is still early to place Baltimore firmly in the Super Bowl conversation, Hendrickson is already thinking about finishing the job this time.

“I’m in a win-now window,” Hendrickson said in his introductory press conference. “My career has been phenomenal, and I’ve been so blessed to meet great people and win a lot of games with Drew Brees and Joe Burrow. But this opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, get into the win column, and build something from the ground up is an amazing opportunity.”

Hendrickson has already shared locker rooms with elite quarterbacks during his career. He spent time with Drew Brees during his stint with the New Orleans Saints and later with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.

What he came away without in both situations, however, was a Super Bowl ring. Now at 31, the veteran pass rusher is hoping Baltimore becomes the place where that finally changes. Hendrickson signed a four-year, $112 million deal with the Ravens after the franchise backed out of Maxx Crosby’s trade.

And now, the four-time Pro Bowler also appears excited about a different dynamic this time around. Instead of spending two games every season trying to chase Lamar Jackson around the pocket, he will now be lining up on the same side as the Ravens quarterback.

And from Baltimore’s perspective, Hendrickson could represent a key piece in strengthening a roster with Super Bowl ambitions.

For a broader context, the Ravens finished the 2025 season with just 30 sacks across 17 games. It was also the first time since the franchise’s inaugural 1996 season that Baltimore did not have an edge rusher record more than 4.5 sacks in a single year. Hendrickson is now expected to fill that void.

Still, there is an obvious caveat. The Ravens have struggled to turn strong rosters into deep playoff runs in recent seasons. The team has been eliminated in the wild card round, the divisional round, and the AFC Championship Game during that stretch.

Baltimore has also not returned to the Super Bowl since winning Super Bowl XLVII. Add in the fact that the Ravens did not even qualify for the playoffs in the 2025 season, and things start to get murkier.

So while Hendrickson may be optimistic about chasing a Lombardi Trophy with Baltimore, the path forward remains clear. First, the Ravens need to get back into the postseason. Only then can Hendrickson truly help the franchise take the next step toward a Super Bowl run in 2026, with the franchise looking to make major changes on the roster.

The Ravens’ GM promised a different team in the 2026 season

The first few days of the Ravens’ free agency period have been surrounded by shock and criticism. And much of it is tied to the collapse of the Maxx Crosby trade. Baltimore had reportedly agreed to send a pair of first-round picks for the star edge rusher. But the team backed out because of physical concerns surrounding Crosby.

Amid that chaos, attention briefly drifted away from the front office’s broader plans for free agency. But general manager Eric DeCosta has made it clear that even though the Crosby deal fell through, the Ravens are still preparing for noticeable changes to the roster. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, DeCosta said:

“This team is going to look different come September. We’re excited about that.”

Per Zrebiec, DeCosta also suggested the Ravens are unlikely to make massive headline-grabbing moves in the coming weeks. Still, the general manager believes there will be opportunities to improve the roster and that the team will continue bringing free agents into the building. For now, the edge rusher spot has been addressed with the signing of Trey Hendrickson.

The focus now is expected to shift toward the center position. The Ravens lost Tyler Linderbaum to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. At the same time, Baltimore also saw multiple veterans leave the roster, including tight end Isaiah Likely.

Taken together, the aggressive pursuit of Crosby, followed by the blockbuster signing of Hendrickson and multiple roster departures, signals that Baltimore’s front office is actively reshaping the roster rather than simply tweaking around the edges. And this is exactly the point DeCosta is making. Now the bigger question is what the Ravens’ next steps in the offseason will look like in the months ahead.