Ravens see Trey Hendrickson as team's closer on defense - ESPN

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — At Friday's introductory news conference for Trey Hendrickson, one of the first words that Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter used to describe his new pass rusher was «closer.»

Minter brought up the statistic about how Hendrickson is second in the NFL in fourth-quarter sacks since 2021 with 26.5.

«When we talk about being able to have a closer mentality and finish games and dominate in the fourth quarter, Trey is the epitome of that [with] how he's played the last four or five years,» Minter said.

The ability to finish games is a major reason why Baltimore signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal, which includes $60 million guaranteed. Baltimore added Hendrickson less than 24 hours after its trade fell through for Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby.

The Ravens are hoping Hendrickson can reverse their fortune late in games. Baltimore has blown an NFL-worst 16 leads in the final five minutes of games over the past five seasons.

Hendrickson believes he's at his best in the fourth quarter because he's motivated «intrinsically.»

«I think winning on defense and getting the ball back to your quarterback is something that I'm motivated to do,» Hendrickson said. «I want the other 10 guys to count on me. If we're in a place and it's a pinch, you got to have gas in the tank and you got to be able to push when everybody else doesn't want to.»

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta mentioned earlier in the week that there was a chance that Hendrickson and Crosby could have played together. Baltimore was in talks with Hendrickson before backing out of its trade for Crosby. League sources told ESPN that the Ravens had medical concerns that arose during Crosby's physical.

Hendrickson said it would