The Cincinnati Bengals headed into this offseason with three of their best players looking for a new contract: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson.
While the Bengals were adamant that they intended to pay all three, Hendrickson is still waiting.
Chase and Higgins will remain Joe Burrow’s top targets for the foreseeable future, but Hendrickson is still publicly pushing for a new deal after leading the NFL in sacks, and one insider doesn’t see the situation getting resolved soon.
ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler recently said that Hendrickson will sit out if he doesn’t get what he feels he deserves.
“They got the two (contracts) done. They know they need this guy. … It’s just, this is a process with a team that doesn’t give a lot of guaranteed money beyond Year 1, typically, or how they structure their signing bonuses. He wants more long-term security. This is not a year-to-year proposition for him. He’s 30 years old, but he feels like he’s earned big-time money on a multiyear extension, so we’ll see what they can find, and some middle ground that they hope to find. If not, he is dug in. I mean, he is prepared to miss time here,” Fowler said.
Pass rush market has exploded. By summer’s end, at least six of top-end rushers should or will have secured mega deal since March.
Taking stock of T.J. Watt, Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons status on @SportsCenter with @SkubieMageza pic.twitter.com/kaLLODTs0h— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 5, 2025
Hendrickson has back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks and was easily the best player on a defense that tied for 25th in points allowed last season.
Cincinnati’s entire team had 36 sacks last year, with nobody else collecting more than five, so Hendrickson should have all the leverage in this standoff as he still has plenty of years of production left, as well as no shortage of teams that would be willing to pay him.
As pivotal as Chase and Higgins are to the offense, Hendrickson is so far and away Cincinnati’s most important defensive player that the franchise cannot afford any outcome other than paying him.
It’s a shame this has dragged on so long and become so public, and hopefully, for Hendrickson and Bengals fans, it gets taken care of as soon as possible.
