6 free agents who could get the Panthers in playoff contention
By Dean Jones
Trey Hendrickson – DE (New Orleans Saints)
The New Orleans Saints look primed for another deep postseason run despite their offense being out of sync for large parts of the campaign. This is primarily down to their defense and the emerging talent of Trey Hendrickson has been another standout feature of their success.
Hendrickson has come of age in 2020 after being given more responsibility by Sean Payton. The defensive end has taken this responsibility very seriously and taken the chance with both hands, to put it mildly.
The former third-round pick out of Florida Atlantic already has 10 sacks on the year and has thrived opposite Cameron Jordan on the defensive front. Hendrickson is only going to get better with age and with the Saints facing some salary-cap problems next season if quarterback Drew Brees decides to stick around, it might see them lose his services.
This would be a player of significant interest to the Carolina Panthers, who have struggled to get any consistent pressure outside of their stud edge rusher Brian Burns.
Adding Hendrickson to a unit that also includes second-round selection Yetur Gross-Matos could change that in an instant next time around and if the opportunity is there, they should stake their claim during what is sure to be an eventful period of free agency for the franchise.