Two of the Bengals’ major offseason priorities have been taken care of. Wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins each have new deals in hand, and their respective futures are no longer in doubt. The same is not true for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, but that could soon change. 
While Joe Burrow has publicly campaigned for all three players to receive monster extensions, it remained clear the Chase-Higgins tandem was the team’s priority. Hendrickson received permission to seek a trade after being denied the opportunity to do so last offseason. His goal remains a lucrative extension, either on a new Bengals pact or one from an acquiring team.
An asking price involving a first-round pick and more is in place, something interested teams are balking at. As a result, no traction on a trade agreement has been reached, something which could help steer Hendrickson back to the Bengals for 2025 and beyond. Working out a deal remains the team’s goal in the wake of the Chase and Higgins pacts, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz. Talks on an extension are indeed ongoing, Dianna Russini of The Athletic adds.
Providing further clarity with respect to the timeline in this case, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes negotiations on the Hendrickson front picked up late last week. This latest effort to work out a deal thus dates back to before the Chase and Higgins deals getting finalized, which helps explain the high asking price in a trade. Fowler confirms a market exists for a swap, but a breakdown in talks would likely be necessary for the Bengals to seriously entertain offers.
Hendrickson joined the Bengals in 2021, and his $15MM-per-year pact (and subsequent top-up) proved to be a highly worthwhile investment. The former Saint has earned a Pro Bowl nod in each of his four Cincinnati seasons, adding first-team All-Pro honors in 2024. Hendrickson led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last season, matching his total from the previous campaign and helping his leverage in contract talks. With a trade being out of reach unless the asking price drops, Russini’s colleague Paul Dehner Jr. writes “the arrow is pointed toward” Hendrickson and the Bengals continuing their relationship (subscription required).
The Bengals re-signed edge rusher Joseph Ossai last week, and the team also has 2023 first-rounder Myles Murphy in the fold for at least two more years. Cincinnati ranked 24th in the league in sacks last season, though, an illustration of the vacancy Hendrickson’s departure would create in the event a trade were to take place. The Bengals are well aware of the fact a new contract with the 30-year-old will require a notable raise, and their attention can now fully turn to the latest round of extension talks on that front.
History has taught me that all the best teams have 60% of their payroll tied up in 4 players.
So they’re just gonna pay 4 guys insane money and fill the rest of the roster out with mid level guys I guess? Bold strategy cotton, let’s see if it pays off for them.
That’s kinda how it’s done these days.
The Bengals are going to have 4 players and a bunch of guys off the street very soon.
Sounds like a lot of teams in the NFL these days. 4-5 players take up 65-75% of your cap space and the rest are rookies or guys on cheap contracts.
Not a formula that most championship “winning teams” employ.
7 of Philly’s 11 on defense were on rookie deals last year. Just gotta draft well. (Which the Bengals don’t do)
That’s true for all teams. Can’t ein on free agency alone.
How in the hell could one team pay 4 top position guys?
Just knowing how most teams operate, it doesn’t seem possible within the salary system. Most teams have a difficult time with 2 or 3.
How in the hell can Cincy afford all of this? They are going to have an AWFUL team for years to come if they give him big money too? Wow….
Especially with all the injury concerns. It could quickly go off the rails with no defense to keep games closer.
They still have 25 million in cap space this year. Even if they DON’T sign him to an extension too. He is still signed and they have 25 million available.
So if he doesn’t sign an extension and leaves they will have that space plus the other 25 and the increase next year.
They can also restructure Burrow as an option
The fans of other teams are apocalyptic that the Bengals spent more money than expected and actually signed both WR. They can’t rationalize it in their head and can’t even look to see how they weee able to do it.
We aren’t going to overpay for the same team…. Precedes to drop record contracts on the same team.
Dear Bengals: You don’t need this guy.
You should trade this loser to Buffalo cheap to get rid of his contract demands.
Do not check the username of the man behind the curtain…
I only have the best internet of the Bengals in mind!
Promise!
And replace him with whom?
We could offer a gently used AJ Epenesa.
Von Miller is also available!
…But think of all the money you can save!
*Im sincerely hoping you picked up on the light humor here, but it feels like you missed it in the original post.
He’s already signed to a contract. If the Bengals choose to give him a raise it’s a bonus. Otherwise he should shut up, show up, and do his job. He can leave next year and get his big bucks.
Bengals still have 25M available space for this year. And Trey is already signed. So if they give him an extension there’s still enough room to sign him and probably another 1-2 players.
They didn’t have to cut anyone yet to sign these extensions for the 2 WR. You throw in the fact Burrow has not had to restructure his contract to do this yet.
CB–The Bengals need more than just a pass rusher on Defense. Trade him or make him play for what he’s signed for. They have 25 available? ,Then they need to pay 3 or 4 guys on defense ,not one guy. In my humble opinion.
You don’t know much about the team then since you’re confused as to how they will pay the players they already have. Including the GB DT and PHi LB they signed?
They drafted the last 3 years players that are 2-3 year contracts. They still have the 25 million available. That’s with Trey still there. Minus the draft. They can still sign a couple of players if they had to. They are counting on Golden to coach this team better and not wait until the last 2 months to simplify a defense that was not working. Did you think half the defense was made up of pending FA?
Do you just want to be contrary or do really believe what you are saying? How long have you been the teams accountant? Since you seem intent on bapping your gums I’ll just walk away without saying giving you a lecture about legally binding contracts. Feel free to continue talking because I have a feeling you like to hear yourself talk.
They cut Rankins and Cappa. They saved about 14 million dollars but remember that you need roughly 10 million for your draft picks. I assume that more cuts are coming if they can’t trade them. Pratt and Stone come to mind
Sign him. The salary cap is already increasing by $25 million for 2025 and is most likely going to increase by more in 2026. His production cannot be replaced and there aren’t any available edge free agents on the market. Z’Darius Smith or Matthew Judon will cost almost as much. Why do that???
I say sell him to Saskatchewan. The Roughriders could use him.
Given that first round asking price, it seemed like this is the way it was going to go again for Cincy. They gave a couple of big ticket extensions recently, though, so let’s see if they can reach an agreement this time around like last time.