Kawakami: Trey Hendrickson would be an ideal 49ers target — here’s a realistic trade offer

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If there’s a temptation for the 49ers to go for a quick-strike solution after Nick Bosa’s season-ending ACL tear, and I think there might be, there’s one trade scenario that stands out far above other possibilities.

What about checking with the Cincinnati Bengals about Trey Hendrickson?

Obviously, there are risks involved when a team heads to the trade market in a moment of extreme crisis. The 49ers don’t want to be rash. None of this comes cheap. And they shouldn’t be overeager to reload at defensive end when the costs might be extreme and after they spent so much energy whittling down their payroll last offseason.

But there should be — and probably is — some urgency, right? The 49ers might not have quite expected greatness this season, but they’re 3-0 after Sunday’s victory over Arizona, and they’ve done it battling a storm of injuries. This still could be a memorable season.

Sure, the 49ers have players who can take on greater roles to help fill the Bosa void, but this momentum could dissipate quickly without him racing to the quarterback, drawing double teams, and blowing up multiple plays a game.

They acquired Bryce Huff to be a complementary piece working off Bosa on pass downs, not to do everything Bosa does. They drafted Mykel Williams to be an all-around force, not a sack machine.

Can the 49ers patch together a strong defense and get to the playoffs without Bosa? It’s possible, especially after this great start.

But the great start also adds responsibility to the 49ers’ front office: They can reinforce everything the players and coaches have achieved so far by trying to make a smart trade just when it’s most needed.

“We’ll look at trades like we always do,” Kyle Shanahan said during his conference call Monday afternoon. “But there’s gotta be trade options that make sense for you and another team. You can’t just do that stuff just to do it.”

No argument here on that point. You don’t make a trade just to say you made one. You get yourself into trouble if you burn your future assets just for the fanciest acquisition right now. You have to be careful.

Which leads me to Hendrickson, who long intrigued the 49ers and could be available because he’s a pending free agent and the Bengals are facing a lost season after Joe Burrow’s injury.

Most important for the 49ers’ purposes, Hendrickson, who racked up 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons (he led the league last year) and has two sacks so far this season, with six quarterback hits, is one of the few players on Bosa’s level.

Would the 49ers shift out of cost-cutting mode to go after Hendrickson? They won’t do it for just anybody. I think, for several reasons, they might consider it for him.

Hendrickson, of course, wouldn’t be the only name on a shortlist if the 49ers start making trade calls. But there are complications with all of them.

The 49ers would probably like to talk to the Raiders about Maxx Crosby and the Browns about Myles Garrett, but those guys won’t be traded anytime soon. And the 49ers could theoretically check in on some old friends who are on shaky teams: the Saints’ Chase Young, the Jaguars’ Arik Armstead, and the Falcons’ Leonard Floyd, who was released by the 49ers in their salary offload last March.

Also, the Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux could interest the 49ers because of his youth — he’s 24 — and talent and because he might soon be available.

But the former 49ers likely won’t be brought back (even if I will continue to point out that the team should’ve kept Floyd last offseason), and Thibodeaux might cost too much, both in draft capital and contract expectations, for a player who has not yet come close to stardom.

It would take a special player for the 49ers to contemplate moving draft picks and paying up for a future contract. They’d have to know that this player could fit immediately. They’d have to figure out the financial situation beforehand. It can get complicated.

But yes, they’ve done this before — when they traded for Trent Williams in April 2020 and for Christian McCaffrey during the 2022 season and then kept them both with new contracts.

I think Hendrickson could be in a similar category right now. And the 49ers can go into Hendrickson talks with some built-in limitations. He’s great, but at 30, he’s not likely to command the massive long-term guarantees that younger stars have landed lately, including Bosa’s $122.5 million and Micah Parsons’ $136 million from the Packers.

Hendrickson also isn’t likely to cost the multiple first-round picks it took for the Packers to get Parsons from Dallas this month; if that’s what the Bengals want, the 49ers can quickly bow out of the talks. I’ll put it this way: I don’t think that’s what it’d cost if Cincinnati is ready to trade Hendrickson.

Let’s say that the 49ers offer a trade package involving simple conditions on the picks, such as …

• 2026 first- and third-round picks and a 2027 second-rounder if Hendrickson plays 60% or more of the 49ers’ remaining defensive snaps this season and the 49ers get to the playoffs and he re-signs with the 49ers.

(Remember, if all this happens, the 49ers would have had a very good season, and they’d have both Hendrickson and Bosa ready to go for 2026. Not bad. To me, that’d easily be worth surrendering those picks.)

• Which would be lowered to just a first-rounder if Hendrickson plays 60%-plus of the snaps and the 49ers get to the playoffs but Hendrickson doesn’t re-sign with the 49ers.

(A first-round pick for getting to the playoffs but not keeping Hendrickson? Not ideal, but not devastating for the 49ers, knowing they took their best shot this season and would have Bosa coming back.)

• Which would be lowered again to just a second-rounder if Hendrickson doesn’t play 60% of the snaps or the 49ers fail to make the playoffs and Hendrickson doesn’t re-sign.

(It all falls apart and the 49ers give up no more than a second-rounder? That’s not the way they’d want it to work, but that’s not much to risk for the opportunity to go for it this season.)

The 49ers of a few years ago would definitely try to do something like this. They’ve operated differently recently, but I think there’s still some of this urgency inside the Levi’s Stadium offices — especially if a potential trade and contract could squeeze into some of the new parameters.

It’s definitely a little similar to the McCaffrey trade. Back then, the 49ers went after an elite player who had some depreciating value, knew they could fit the contract in the short term, and were happy to work out a long-term agreement.

McCaffrey was an easy fit because, due to several restructurings with Carolina, his base salary was barely over $1 million. Hmm, after Hendrickson’s recent restructuring, his 2025 base salary is $16 million. That’s a lot more than $1 million but still far from the mega-salaries of other top edge rushers.

If the 49ers and Bengals can find a way to do something like this, it would get the Bengals the shot at quality compensation in a lost season for a player they’re likely losing anyway.

And the worst that could happen to the 49ers is that they tried and whiffed and lost a second-round pick.

That’s not a terrible price for the chance to keep this season running. I think that’s a price the 49ers might be willing to pay. I think it’s actually something the 49ers owe to themselves to try.