Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson requested a trade just months ago. While he hasn’t technically rescinded the request, he’s in a good place with the team and driven toward one goal. He wants to win a Super Bowl, and he wants to do it with the Bengals and his teammates.
That’s why he showed up to open the first day of voluntary activities despite his disagreements with the front office. He’s there to meet the rookies, to be a good teammate, and to contribute to winning a championship. And he’s got the right mindset, under the circumstances, I think, saying what you’d want your own players to say.
“This is where separating business and the team is difficult. At what point am I contradicting what I want”? Hendrickson admitted, via Geoff Hobson writing for the team’s website. “Long-term, winning games, all those things are what I want to do here in Cincinnati and removing myself from the team doesn’t help the team”.
Hobson writes that the Bengals front office gave him a clear “no” to his trade request, but Hendrickson still praised them. “They do their job well. They were transparent and respectful”, he said, even though he believes he should earn more.
The Bengals gave Hendrickson a four-year, $60 million contract as a free agent in 2021, adding a one-year extension last year through the 2025 season. His new one-year extension was worth $21 million, giving him $81 million over five years.
Even at $21 million, however, Hendrickson falls outside of the top 10 at edge rusher for contracts. Just outside the top 10, specifically, ranking 11th, ahead of Joey Bosa but behind Bradley Chubb. The top five contracts at the position top $25 million per season or higher, including two division rivals.
The Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett signed a five-year, $125 million extension in 2020. A year later, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt signed a four-year extension worth over $112 million. Their contracts have since been surpassed by Nick Bosa, Josh Allen, and Brian Burns. The younger Bosa’s deal rises significantly above everybody else at $32 million per season. That’s about 35 percent more per season than Trey Hendrickson got on his one-year extension.
With two years remaining on his contract, however, it doesn’t seem the Bengals are planning another extension for Hendrickson. The question is, when he is entering the final year of his deal a year from now, what will they do? Will they make him among the highest-paid edge rushers in the league?
Over the past four seasons, three in Cincinnati, Hendrickson has 53 sacks, 46 tackles for loss, 101 quarterback hits, 10 forced fumbles, and seven passes defensed. He’s made the Pro Bowl each of the past three seasons, setting a career high with 17.5 sacks in 2023.
Hendrickson is entirely within his rights to believe he’s being underpaid relative to his peers. Unfortunately for him, the Bengals are also within their rights to expect him to honor his contract. In the meantime, they both want to work toward the mutual goal of bringing a championship to a place that would serve Skyline Chili out of the Stanley Cup. Fortunately, the Lombardi Trophy has no concavities suitable for a bowl.
