Star Bengals Defender Expected To Miss Matchup With Patriots

It appears as though the Cincinnati Bengals will be shorthanded when they visit the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Christmas Eve.

The Bengals, who took home a 23-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, saw arguably their best defender suffer an injury in the matchup and it’s expected to sideline him.

Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson suffered a broken wrist Sunday and he’s expected to miss a few weeks, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported. Rapoport added how Hendrickson played the fourth quarter with the broken wrist.

Hendrickson has turned himself into one of the best pass rushers in football over the last three seasons. Since 2020, the 28-year-old has 33.5 sacks, which is part of the reason Cincinnati inked him to a four-year, $60 million contract prior to last season. He has 29 tackles, six sacks, and two forced fumbles on the year while only Browns defender Myles Garrett has more quarterback pressures.

The absence of Hendrickson certainly isn’t something that will upset the Patriots, who have struggled to protect Mac Jones over recent weeks. Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn, both of New England’s offensive tackles, have been in and out of the lineup and haven’t been very good when healthy. Taking away the best front seven player on an opponent would surely be welcomed.

There are a couple of weeks before the matchup, but the Patriots seem to have dodged a bullet when it comes to facing one of the NFL’s best at his position.