If Trey Hendrickson doesn’t get his way from the Bengals or anybody else, then he may not play this season. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the veteran pass rusher is “extremely dug in” regarding his position on his value. After leading the league in sacks, he believes he should be paid among the best at his position.
Earlier this offseason, Hendrickson requested a trade, and the Bengals granted him permission to seek one. Why he is still with the Bengals, then, is not clear, but some have theorized. “Trade talks have cooled, with the belief that Cincinnati either didn’t get an offer, including a first-round pick, or it rebuffed engaging trade offers in March”, Fowler writes.
In 2021, Trey Hendrickson signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Bengals. Prior to last season, he signed a one-year, $21 million extension through 2025. He did so, he believed, under the assumption that Cincinnati would take care of him the following offseason.
While Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks with All-Pro honors, the Bengals have not compensated him to his liking. Indeed, there have been some interesting comments coming from the organization to which Hendrickson has taken offense.
“I think he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at”, Bengals executive Katie Blackburn said of Hendrickson. More recently, a warning of an impending fine from HC Zac Taylor if he were to skip minicamp—which doesn’t take place until June 10—also set him off.
So much so that Hendrickson showed up to the Bengals’ facility just to talk to the media. He talked about how the team has made things personal and reiterated that the front office hadn’t discussed a contract with him since the draft. They just so happened to draft a pass rusher in the first round. But Shemar Stewart also is not budging, taking the position that he will not practice without a contract. As of this writing, he is still not practicing.
Amidst all of that, Trey Hendrickson threatened to skip games, or even the season, if the Bengals didn’t give in. According to reports, he is looking to approach Maxx Crosby’s figure, which is the highest on the market under Myles Garrett’s silly deal. The Bengals, however, are only in the $28 million range, about one-fifth less.
It’s not clear that things would work out well for Hendrickson if he held out on the Bengals. While he has already pocketed roughly $68 million in his career, he could make that and more in just three years. But he seems to want to do that in two. Going by his production recently, he should, but now 30, the Bengals may be fearing diminishing returns.
