Coming out of Florida Atlantic, Hendrickson was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts to be a third or fourth round pick.[3] He played in the 2017 East-West Shrine Game and was named the game's defensive MVP.[4]
Hendrickson was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round (103rd overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.[8] On June 2, 2017, the Saints signed him to a four-year, $3.17 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $706,288.[9]
He was unable to appear in the Saints' season-opening 29–19 loss to the Minnesota Vikings due to an illness. On September 17, 2017, Hendrickson made his professional regular season debut against the New England Patriots and recorded three combined tackles in the Saints' 36–20 loss.[11] The following week, he earned two combined tackles and sacked Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during a 34–13 victory.[12] In a Week 6 matchup against the Detroit Lions, he made two pass deflections as the Saints won 52–38.[13]
2018
In the 2018 season, Hendrickson appeared in five games in the regular season and recorded eight combined tackles and four quarterback hits.[14]
2019
In the 2019 regular season opener for the Saints, Hendrickson recorded two sacks against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.[15] He totaled 4.5 sacks, 19 total tackles, and one forced fumble in the 2019 season.[16]
2020
In Week 9 of the 2020 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hendrickson recorded two sacks on Tom Brady during the 38–3 win.[17] In Week 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hendrickson recorded two sacks on Patrick Mahomes, including a strip sack that was recovered by the Saints, during the 32–29 loss.[18] He finished the 2020 season with 13.5 sacks, 25 total tackles, one pass defended, and one forced fumble.[19] He was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021[20] and voted to the PFWA All-NFL team.
Cincinnati Bengals
2021
On March 19, 2021, Hendrickson signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.[21][22] Hendrickson was named the team's starting right defensive end.[23] In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, Hendrickson recorded his first sack of the season, a strip sack on Bears quarterback Andy Dalton. He had his only multi-sack game of the season in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers, sacking Aaron Rodgers twice for loss. This was the first of nine games in a row where Hendrickson recorded a sack, and the first of eleven where he recorded at least half a sack.[24] Hendrickson finished his first season with the team with 14 sacks, breaking the Bengals franchise record for sacks in a single season, and the fifth most in the league for the season.[25]
Hendrickson's dominance continued during the Bengals' playoff run, with a strip sack against Derek Carr in the Bengals' 26–19 win against the Las Vegas Raiders in the Wild Card Round.[26] Hendrickson netted another sack in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs, leading the Bengals defensive charge on the way to their third Super Bowl appearance in team history.[27] Hendrickson recorded one sack in Super Bowl LVI, with the Bengals losing 23–20 to the Los Angeles Rams.
Hendrickson once again returned to playing as the right defensive end.[29] His first breakout performance of the year came in Week 3, where he had four tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles in a 27–12 win over the New York Jets, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[30] Hendrickson suffered a wrist injury in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns, leading to him being ruled out the following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[31] Hendrickson finished the season with eight sacks, 32 total tackles, three passes defended, and three forced fumbles.[32] He was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl,[33] and was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.[34]
2023
Hendrickson signed a contract extension through the 2025 season on July 27, 2023.[35] During the Bengals' training camp, Hendrickson was involved in a scuffle with newly signed left tackle Orlando Brown, leading to Hendrickson suffering from superficial wounds.[36] Hendrickson recorded his first sack of the season in Week 1 against the Browns. Hendrickson had his first breakout game of the season in Week 3 against the Rams, sacking Matthew Stafford twice, and recording seven total tackles. The Bengals' Week 5 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals saw Hendrickson have his best single game performance of the season, recording 2.5 sacks, one of which being a strip sack to force a fumble, as well as six total tackles in the game.[37] He made one sack in both the Bengals' Week 6 and 8 games, against the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Hendrickson also forced a fumble in the latter game against the 49ers.
Hendrickson had a seven-week streak of at least one sack per game, beginning with the Bengals' Week 11 game against the Baltimore Ravens, with a notable moment occurring during the Bengals' Week 15 game against the Vikings, where Hendrickson broke his own record as the Bengals' single-season sack leader, as a sack on Vikings' quarterback Nick Mullens was his 15th sack of the season.[38] His streak ended with the final game of the Bengals' season, only being credited with half a sack. Hendrickson finished the season with 17.5 sacks, again setting the Bengals single-season sack record (previously held by his 2021 total of 14), and a career high 43 tackles. He was tied with Josh Hines-Allen for the second most sacks in NFL for the season, only behind T. J. Watt.[39] Hendrickson was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl.[40] He was ranked 77th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024[41] and selected to the PFWA All-NFL team for the second time.[42]
2024
In Week 9 of the 2024 season, against the Las Vegas Raiders, Hendrickson had four sacks in the 41–24 victory, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[43][44] In Week 18, he recorded 3.5 sacks in a 19–17 win over the Steelers, earning his second Defensive Player of the Week award of the season.[45] He led the league with 17.5 sacks, along with 46 tackles, six passes defensed, and two forced fumbles, and was named first-team All-Pro for 2024.[46]
Sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL. The sack leader has been officially honored with the Deacon Jones Award since 2013.
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