It's been nearly two months since Trey Hendrickson has had anything to say about his ongoing contract standoff with the Cincinnati Bengals. Back in May, the 2024 NFL sack leader made it clear that he won't be suiting up this year under the terms of his current contract, which is set to pay him a $15.8 million base salary in 2205.
Since then, Hendrickson has kept mostly quiet, but he did share something on Instagram this week, marking the first time in nearly a month that he's posted anything on social media. Sometimes, players will share cryptic messages on social media, but Hendrickson's post seems to be a little bit more clearer than most players in his situation.
With one week to go until Bengals veterans report to training camp, Hendrickson shared a three-and-a-half minute highlight video that showed off most of his 17.5 sacks from 2024.
The 30-year-old also added a bible verse as the caption to his video: 1 Corinthians 16:13.
That specific verse says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."
When you're in a contract stalemate and you share something that talks about standing firm and being strong, that seems like a sign that Hendrickson won't be budging from his demands.
Why is there a stalemate?
Hendrickson wants a huge raise that will bring him closer to the top of the market at his position. Back in January, the highest-paid pass-rusher was making $34 million per year (Nick Bosa), but Maxx Crosby ($35.5 million) Danielle Hunter ($35.6 million) and Myles Garrett ($40 million per yer) have all gotten new deals over the past six months, which has reset the market.
There's been no indication that Hendrickson wants to be the highest-paid player, but it's pretty clear that he wants a substantial raise that would more than double his base salary for 2025, which is scheduled to be $15.8 million (Back in mid-May, Pro Football Talk reported that the Bengals have offered up to $28 million per year and it's unknown whether that offer has changed much since then).
The other big issue -- and it might actually be bigger than the financial aspect of the deal -- is the length of the contract. Hendrickson wants a long-term deal, but the Bengals are looking to do something more short-term in the neighborhood of two years, which Hendrickson is adamantly again.
"We're just not seeing eye-to-eye on the structure," Hendrickson said back in May. "It seems that a shorter deal is something that they're pushing pretty hard. That puts in the same place as I was in 2022, where I have to renegotiate the next year."
Hendrickson was given a one-year extension back in 2023 and he doesn't want to go down that road again.
"If ... I'm playing at a better level than I was last year, then, next year, we're just kicking the can down the road," Hendrickson said.
The All-Pro pass-rusher also noted that getting a long-term deal done would be a sign of mutual respect.
"That's where my values lie and that also allows me to stop having to negotiation every offseason about something that has been almost four years of doing," Hendrickson said.
He seems dug in on that point, which is why it was timely of him to share a bible verse that encouraged him to "Stand firm" and "be strong."
Why the Bengals should work to get a deal done quickly
The Bengals might not want to meet Hendrickson's demands, but if they don't get a deal done soon, things are only going to get more complicated. Two other high-profile pass-rushers --- T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons -- are expected to get extensions over the next few weeks and if they both reset the market, that means the Bengals will have to pay even more for Hendrickson.
How will this end?
The Bengals front office isn't known to budge much in contract negotiations and it seems like Hendrickson is also dug in, which is why the two sides are at an impasse. Hendrickson did request a trade earlier this year, but at this point, it feels like that option is out the window because dealing him away would make not only make the Bengals defense worse, it wouldn't help them this year (Even if they got a 2026 first-round pick, that wouldn't help them in 2025).
The Bengals have gotten have to a series of slow starts under Zac Taylor and a lot of that has happened because there's always been some sort of setback or distraction at training camp. In July 2021, Joe Burrow was coming off a torn ACL that he suffered in 2020. In July 2022, Burrow suffered a ruptured appendix that caused him to miss almost all of training camp. In July 2023, he suffered a calf injury early in training camp that knocked him out for almost a month. In 2024, Burrow wasn't 100% at the start of camp as he was coming off a torn ligament in his wrist that he suffered in November 2023.
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The Bengals also had to deal with Ja'Marr Chase's contract situation during training camp last year.
All those issues have added up for the Bengals, who are 1-9 during the first two weeks of the season since drafting Burrow in 2020. This is a team that doesn't need any distractions heading into training camp and they could eliminate all their distractions if they can get Hendrickson (and Shemar Stewart) under contract.
Due to this fact, the Bengals should feel some urgency to get a deal done. Although Hendrickson said he'd be willing to miss games, it's hard to imagine him sitting out. Things might get contentious over the next week or two, but the bottom line is that both sides should be motivated to get a deal done sooner rather than later, so it seems like an extension will eventually get done, but it's hard to say when that will actually happen.
