CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson hasn't participated in the offseason program due to his current contract status.
The 30-year-old is entering the final year of his contract. After giving Hendrickson permission to seek a trade earlier this offseason, the Bengals opted to keep the All-Pro pass rusher on the roster. Despite that decision, they still haven't resolved the contract issue.
Will the Bengals get a deal done with Hendrickson before the start of the season?
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer believes something will get done because of one person: Joe Burrow.
"Because I think Joe Burrow has real power there, my guess is they’ll get something done," Breer wrote in his latest mailbag. "I just don’t know how they’ll get there. This is the third consecutive offseason it’s been an issue for Cincinnati. Hendrickson’s initial deal was a COVID-19-affected discount deal. He got a Band-Aid extension in the summer of 2023. He got nowhere last summer, and generally when a guy has to wait that long, he won’t be looking to cut his team a break."
Hendrickson voiced his frustrations last month when he showed up at Bengals practice. He met with the media for nearly 25 minutes before leaving team facilities. The price for top tier defensive ends has made negotiations complicated—at least on the outside looking in.
"The market has materially changed," Breer wrote. "Hendrickson may not be the sort of war daddy pass rusher such as Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa, who both demanded market-changing deals. But Hendrickson did have 35 sacks the past two years, so he’s more than within reason to expect to get where Danielle Hunter and Maxx Crosby did this offseason, somewhere around $35 million per year. The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t gone there yet. We’ll see if they do."
I don't expect the Bengals to get to $35 million per year. Maybe they do, but there has to be a happy medium that the team and Hendrickson can find in the coming months.
The last thing a team in "win-now" mode wants to do is worry about their star pass rusher throughout training camp. If a deal doesn't get done, then it'll be a distraction.
Burrow pushed for Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Hendrickson to all get new contracts in January. The Bengals signed Chase and Higgins in March. Is Hendrickson next? Time will tell.
If all else fails, maybe Burrow can negotiate the deal himself?
