Latest On Bengals Negotiations With DE Trey Hendrickson

While the Bengals were able to end protracted contract standoffs with WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins this offseason, things still remain up in the air with DE Trey Hendrickson, the other key pillar QB Joe Burrow has been lobbying Cincinnati to keep. 

Hendrickson was granted permission to seek a trade earlier this spring but that hasn’t yet broken the stalemate between the two sides. The Bengals remain unwilling to meet Hendrickson’s asking price and unwilling to part with him for, reportedly, less than a first-round pick. 

Bengas EVP Katie Blackburn discussed the situation at the NFL owners meetings this past week. A little bit of frustration with Hendrickson’s stance seemed to leak through in some of her comments. 

“I think he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at,” Blackburn said via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I think some of it is on him to be happy at some point, and if he’s not, you know, that’s what holds it up sometimes.

“So, you know, it takes him to say yes to something, and also, we have all the respect in the world for him. He’s been a great player. We’re happy to have him. And so maybe we’ll find a way to get something to work. We’re just gonna see where it goes.”

Blackburn explained why the team granted Hendrickson and his agents permission to explore a trade with other teams, a rare concession the Bengals don’t usually make. 

“As you’re trying (to put) all these pieces together, you have certain limitations eventually,” Blackburn said. “So he seemed to feel strongly about it, and thought the strength of interest out there was going to be at a certain level. And so, we said that it would be okay to at least explore and so we don’t do that all the time, but in this case, we felt like it was the right thing to do, case-by-case basis every time. And he’s still Bengal, so we’ll see. It’s just something that we’ll keep working through.”

Hendrickson’s discontent with his contract dates back to last year when he felt like he overperformed the deal he signed with the Bengals as a free agent. The veteran pass rusher market has also exploded this year, increasing his asking price past where the Bengals currently feel comfortable going. 

While multiple teams have reportedly shown interest in Hendrickson, the Bengals have not been satisfied with the offers. There was renewed optimism after extensions for Chase and Higgins that Cincinnati was motivated to keep Hendrickson as well, and for his part Hendrickson has been consistent about wanting to stay with the Bengals as long as he’s compensated fairly. 

But no resolution appears imminent and Blackburn admitted she doesn’t know how things are going to end. 

“I’d be lying if I said I knew exactly what’s going to happen,” Blackburn said. “So, we’ll just have to see how it all plays out.”

Hendrickson, 30, was selected with the No. 103 overall pick by the Saints out of Florida Atlantic in 2017. He finished his four-year rookie contract worth $3,106,288, which included a signing bonus of $706,284.

Hendrickson then signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Bengals back in 2021 and went on to appear in the Super Bowl for the team. Cincinnati signed him to a one-year extension through 2025 in 2023. 

He’s due a base salary of $15.8 million in the final year of his contract in 2025. 

In 2024, Hendrickson appeared in all 17 games for the Bengals and recorded 46 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and six pass defenses.

We’ll have more on Hendrickson as the news is available.