The San Francisco 49ers are exploring ways to replace the production of Nick Bosa after the star pass rusher suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals. While the team has in-house options—rookie first-round pick Mykel Williams, trade acquisition Bryce Huff, and veterans Yetur Gross-Matos and Sam Okuayinonu—the need for another proven pass rusher could loom large.
On Tuesday morning, NFL analyst Brian Baldinger suggested that San Francisco will likely need to acquire some outside help.
"They're going to probably have to make a trade or find somebody that might still be on the street that has some experience," Baldinger said during a radio interview.
One name generating buzz is Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. According to 49ers insider Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard, the team has long been intrigued by Hendrickson, and acquiring him might be more realistic than many assume.
"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," Kawakami wrote.
Other possible trade targets mentioned include New York Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, though his youth (24 years old) and upside could make him far more expensive to acquire.
Hendrickson, on the other hand, comes with built-in negotiating advantages.
"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," Kawakami wrote.
"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."
If the 49ers continue their winning streak and view themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders, making a bold move for Hendrickson could strengthen their championship push. However, with a $16 million base salary in the final year of his deal—much of which would likely be absorbed by the 49ers—trading for him would not come cheap.
Hendrickson has 79 sacks across nine NFL seasons, including two through the first three games of 2025. Last year, he matched his career high with 17.5 sacks.