If the Bengals can't afford Trey Hendrickson, someone else certainly can.

That someone else just might be the Detroit Lions.

That's the idea thrown out by ESPN's Bill Barnwell in his mock draft unveiled on Monday.

Barnwell proposes this trade: Lions get Hendrickson and the 49th pick, Bengals get the 28th pick and 130th pick.

"Bengals fans won't want to see Hendrickson leave," Barnwell writes,"but he is reportedly willing to sit out games in 2025 without a new deal, and they won't want to see a repeat of the Carson Palmer situation. This would value Hendrickson as a second-round pick, albeit one of the very last selections (61st pick). De facto general manager Duke Tobin would have two first-round picks to add defensive help, with Cincinnati jumping ahead of the Commanders and Eagles for edge-rushing options."

The Lions add a premier pass rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson in a major deal toward lifting the Lombardi Trophy.

The Bengals would have an even worse defense after this and would surely prioritize it in the draft with the additional picks.