Colts Reportedly Want Defensive Trade with Bengals
It's been reported by NFL insider Dianna Russini that the Indianapolis Colts are among several teams that have called to inquire about a possible trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and linebacker Logan Wilson.
This makes perfect sense given the Colts have former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who coached Hendrickson and Wilson plenty during his days in the AFC North.
Either or both talents would immediately elevate the ceiling of Anarumo's defense with the Colts. Starting with Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last year.
Trey Hendrickson
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Hendrickson played under Anarumo during the best seasons he has ever had. From 2021-2024, Hendrickson earned four Pro Bowls, a First-Team All-Pro and logged an impressive 57.0 sacks.
The 2023 and 2024 campaigns were the best stretch for Hendrickson, as the former third-rounder put up 35.0 sacks (17.5 in each year), 89 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, and 61 quarterback hits.
So far this year, Hendrickson hasn't been the supernova that he was in 2023 and 2024, but he still has solid numbers of 4.0 sacks, 16 tackles, three tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits.
The Bengals will likely try to leverage a good haul if a trade does go down for Hendrickson, but since his play has declined from recent seasons and he's 30 years old, Cincinnati won't be fleecing anyone who hypothetically executes this deal.
Logan Wilson
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Anarumo had even more time coaching linebacker Wilson than he did Hendrickson. Wilson has been with the Bengals since 2020 and has provided consistent reliability.
Wilson had a good four-year stretch (2021-2024) where he put up four-straight 100-plus tackle seasons, logged 4.5 sacks, six fumbles forced, nine interceptions, 18 pass breakups, and 15 tackles for loss.
The Colts have good talent in the linebacking corps in veteran Zaire Franklin and former Bengals defender, Germaine Pratt, but neither is reliable in pass coverage. This area is where a name like Wilson would be welcomed.
Wilson will be easier to execute a trade for since he's not a top-tier talent. Just like Hendrickson, a deal for Wilson would make perfect sense since Anarumo pulled the best football out of him during his time coaching Cincy's stop troops.
The Bottom Line
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Both Hendrickson and Wilson are great gets if the Colts can somehow pull off a trade for one, or both, defensive difference-makers.
The Colts can use more help to generate consistent pass-rush and pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the defensive trenches, but can also use more linebacker help, especially in coverage.
It's worth keeping an eye out for Indianapolis to make a key move. It's standard practice to inquire about players that possess the talent of Hendrickson and Wilson, but getting the deal done is far harder in the middle of the season.
The trade deadline looms and will conclude after 4 pm EST on Tuesday, November 4th. Indianapolis is suddenly a team that can win it all, so making a trade to bolster the defense at the perfect time would be a great move for Chris Ballard.
We'll see if Anarumo can reunite with yet another defender he's coached.
Former Steelers OC Bruce Arians reveals the shocking truth about Pittsburgh's home crowd during 'SNF'
The Pittsburgh Steelers were recently defeated at home on "Sunday Night Football" by the Green Bay Packers in a 35-25 loss that spiraled out of control in the second half. It particularly began when Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed 20 straight passes and humiliated the Steelers defense. Pittsburgh's unit had been seen as the strength of the team in recent years, but for back-to-back weeks, it allowed an opposing quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against their secondary.
There was another issue throughout the game, however, that others within the media, analysts and former coaching circles caught that was not related to the performance of the teams on the field. On a recent episode of "Inside the NFL"
Bruce Arians angered by home environment during game
Arians had already made recent comments regarding Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers being forced to use a silent count at home, and he doubled down on these comments when he and Clark discussed the things that went wrong for the Steelers.
"The thing that upset me the most was that Aaron Rodgers had to use a silent count at Heinz Field," Arians stated bluntly. "That never has happened in the history of Heinz Field, that some other teams gonna take over the stadium and drown out the quarterback. That's just unheard of. I was shocked watching that on television."
Arians' comments about Rodgers being forced to use a silent count at home is one that stemmed from the poor play by the Steelers in the second half. The Packers fans who took over the stadium were never given a reason to quiet down, as the white-hot Packers offense marched down the field at will. Packers tight end Tucker Kraft, in particular, had 143 yards on seven receptions as the Steelers were unable to generate any kind of pressure or make impactful plays to swing momentum in their favor. Despite the strong first-half performance from the Steelers, having a 16-7 lead at the half, they were unable to keep up the pace.
The Packers put the game away as the Steelers could not keep up, giving the large number of Packers fans inside Acrisure Stadium many reasons to get excited, with many "Go Pack Go" chants echoing throughout the stadium as they watched their team put the game away at the end. However, the situation with the opposing Packers fans taking over the stadium is not something that is likely to happen with other Steelers games at home throughout the rest of the season.
Steelers home crowds will likely not experience this again
The Steelers fans who experienced the onslaught of Packers fans taking over Acrisure Stadium were motivated by a very particular reason. They were watching their former quarterback, the QB who led the Packers to Super Bowl XLV, play against them and have a chance at revenge. They wanted to watch Love outduel Rodgers and be proved right in their debates regarding whether or not they should have let Rodgers go when they did. Their intention was to make the atmosphere as hostile as possible for their former quarterback, and they succeeded.
Considering the Steelers will not be partaking in any other revenge games against a team's former franchise quarterback this season, the likelihood that Arians' remarks about Rodgers using a silent count at home being true again is very low. This should be good news for Steelers fans hoping to not see their home stadium taken over by opposing fans again this season, and hopefully, the majority of crowds in Acrisure Stadium will be Steelers fans again.
