It's hard to say just how the Baltimore Ravens just made life easier and tougher on the San Francisco 49ers (and the rest of the NFL, for that matter) by engineering a would-be blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for defensive end Maxx Crosby, only to pull out at the last moment and pivot to a free-agent signing of defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
But that's how things apparently went down in Baltimore, which must've known Crosby wouldn't be able to pass a physical at this point in his recovery from injury late last year.
Initially, the Niners seemed to have little-to-no chance of pulling off a Crosby trade. Their top pick in the NFL Draft this April was at No. 27 overall, whereas 25 other teams had a better pick to give Vegas.
That left Hendrickson, who'd also have no shortage of suitors.
But, even in light of Baltimore's pivot, San Francisco probably didn't have much of a shot grabbing Hendrickson either.
And his new contract with the Ravens pretty much proves it.
49ers never had a real shot at either Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson, the top player on FanSided's list of 110 best free agents, was going to have a lucrative market despite dealing with an injury-plagued 2025 campaign that resulted in only four sacks after posting 17.5 in both 2023 and 2024.
Combined with his age and the likelihood of being overly expensive, one might conclude the 49ers would be better off passing on his services if the market grew hot.
While a $28 million per-year average might've been notably less than other market-setting contracts for edge defenders, that four-year, $112 million contract Hendrickson got is certainly enough to justify the Niners' inability to land him:
The Ravens’ pivot from Maxx Crosby to Trey Hendrickson.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 11, 2026
The Crosby trade was for two firsts and he was due $112.93M in base value for the next 4 years.
They now sign Trey Hendrickson for $112M over the next 4 years.
San Francisco certainly had interest in Hendrickson, just like it had in Crosby. Both are fantastic options to fill a clear need.
But, the 49ers weren't going to be in serious play for Crosby, at least prior to the Ravens meltdown. And the Niners weren't going to be realistic bidders for Hendrickson either.