Trey Hendrickson Wants To Remain With Bengals, Looking For ‘Long-Term Security’

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson made it clear during an interview with Ross Tucker that he wants to remain in Cincinnati if possible. However, Hendrickson admitted that they’re in an “uncomfortable business negotiation” right now. 

Even so, Hendrickson spoke higher of the team and said he wants to “help them win a Super Bowl.”

“Ideally it doesn’t get to that because I really don’t want to be a distraction for the team. We’ve had multiple good conversations, ya know, it’s just actions speak louder than words, ya know and that’s how I play my game as well,” Hendrickson said. 

“I love Cincinnati. My wife got her residency at the VA hospital there. My son was born there. I’ve had my most productive years in the National Football League there. They’ve given me a tremendous opportunity to represent them at the Pro Bowl and now an All-Pro. I love it. I love it there. I love the coaching staff that I’ve made relationships with whether they’re in the building or not. Moving forward I would like to remain a Bengal. It’s just some things in life, like long-term security. Being able to tell my wife where we’re gonna raise our son and not have to worry about playing a violent sport and shifting of where we’re going. That would be ideal. Again, I want to help them win a Super Bowl and however that looks, if they have plans to move me or keep me, that’s up to them.”

Tucker mentioned that the Bengals are a tricky team to do with based on how they handle contracts, but Hendrickson seemed very appreciative of the franchise as a whole. 

“They’ve taken such great care of though. They’ve done such an amazing job. Being underrated. It was also like that in free agency. They had to take a chance and believe in me. I don’t want that to go underappreciated because we do have this uncomfortable business negotiation going on but I don’t want … they’ve taken care of me off the field with my wife and been so supportive. They’ve taken good care of me,” Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson wanted a new deal from Cincinnati last offseason after believing he’d outplayed his current contract, which at the time had two years left on it. The veteran requested a trade before ultimately playing out the 2024 season and leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks. 

However, the Bengals have a lot of different priorities to juggle which could make it tricky for the two sides to agree on a number both are happy with.

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.