Well into the 2025 offseason, the Trey Hendrickson situation remains far from resolved. A trade sending the reigning NFL sack leader away from the Bengals is not expected by those around the league, but it remains to be seen if an extension agreement will be worked out. 
Hendrickson’s efforts to land a lucrative new pact last spring were unsuccessful, and his trade request did not result in talks with interested teams taking place. This time around, the situation changed with the Bengals allowing the All-Pro to seek a trade. Cincinnati set a high asking price, and multiple offers were turned down as an illustration of the team’s desire to keep him in place for at least one more year.
Talks on a long-term pact have not gone according to plan, and both team and player have gone public with their remarks on the state of negotiations. A holdout is a possibility at this point (as is usually the case in at least a few situations around the league this time of year), and Hendrickson himself said last month talks are on hold. Finances will of course be critical in determining how this situation unfolds.
The top of the edge rush market now sits at $40MM annually. While Hendrickson would be hard-pressed to match the value of Myles Garrett‘s new deal, he could aim for one closer to the $35MM-per-season mark. The likes of Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa are each near that figure, and Hendrickson could look to join them. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes, however, that the Bengals have yet to offer a deal with an AAV at or around $35MM.
As things stand, Hendrickson is due to collect $16MM in 2025 as a result of the short-term arrangement previously made with the team. The 30-year-old faced the opportunity of playing his way into a much more valuable pact last season, and he certainty did so by posting 17.5 sacks for the second straight season. That total helped earn him a fourth straight Pro Bowl nod and brought his Bengals total to 57 in 63 games. A notable raise is in store, but it remains to be seen how far into a new pact the team will be willing to go with respect to guaranteed compensation.
Quarterback Joe Burrow has maintained his support for a Hendrickson extension this offseason, and Breer predicts a deal will ultimately be worked out. Plenty of work remains in this case, though, and it will be interesting to see if the Bengals up their offer when negotiations pick up and if doing so helps to facilitate an agreement.
I don’t think I’d pay him that either. He’s good, But they’ve already added a ton of payroll and he’s what 32? I mean sooner or later you just have to go sorry. They should have dealt him before the draft and added a FA and got a 2nd and a 4th or whatever they could have gotten then. I mean in football you really need 55 guys at least and you get 300 million plus? They’ve paid their younger stars and sometimes you just have to say fold and walk away.
They have to work it out. They need him badly. You don’t replace an elite player who’s had 17 1/2 sacks in consecutive seasons with any FA or draft pick(s). No, they really can’t give him a long term deal, but they better find a way to pony up because they’re in deep trouble without him.
Yeah but paying him 35 million bucks a year isn’t really going to turn them into a top defense all the sudden. But spreading it around between 3 or 4 guys might make them better. And what if he gets hurt then what? If he was 25 maybe I would. But he’s gonna be 31 next year? The odds aren’t in their favor.
They should trade him to and up and coming team who can afford him who has a cheap QB like Washington.
$35M would make sense if he were a free agent but he’s not. He’s not a free agent because he signed an extension last off season.
Well, players are signing extensions for that amount, not FA contracts. I wonder if he’d take 3 at 90M with 60M guaranteed, and if the Bengals would offer it. That’s 2 for sure years and they can cut him after that if he declines. He’ll be 31 in December. Seems like a fair deal for both sides, but I don’t work here.
A guy who makes almost a million a game (even half that after taxes and agent fees is great pay) crying about being under paid and wanting more than double the $ is sad to hear for Bengals fans.
What’s sad is your owner and GM have one of the best QBs in the NFL and will probably never win a SB because they have absolutely no idea what they are doing.
Why? Most folks want to be paid what they are worth. Hendrikson didn’t set the market, owners and players from other franchisees did. He’s simply looking for a deal that the market dictates he gets.
And, no, I don’t expect him to honor his current contract any more than I expect NFL owners honor them. When all the money is guaranteed, get back to me.
That won’t happen cause the browns were dumb enough to waste guarantees on Diddy Watson.
If I’m Hendrickson, I’d threaten to do the Ickey shuffle on the sidelines until my demands are met. I imagine Mike Brown would capitulate rather quickly 🙂
He never should have signed the extension. His agent is terrible.
Now we’ll see how many upvotes one can get for being a Mom hater…lol.
They need to trade him now while his value is high. A team like the Lions or Redskins (I hate the new name) make sense; both have cap space to accommodate an extension and draft capital and or a young defender if the Bengals would rather have that.
Hey Trey, maybe you should hook up with Colon Kaperstink and you can practice sacking him. Both of you need the practice in case some team calls “But, But, I’m only gonna make 16 million this year, somebody start a go fund me so I can eat and buy shoes, boo hoo,” says Hendrickson. They offered him 28 million from what I heard, if he sits he gets nada. I’m sorry, if he doesn’t come in for training camp I would rather he didn’t come in at all. He won’t be in football shape, so he’ll have to play his way into shape (3 games?). Either way he’s not 100%, which is what the Bengals would be paying for.
When I think of great pass rushers in this league his name is way down the list. Cincinnati should trade him to someone who foolishly thinks he is a difference maker.
Still early in the off season so there’s plenty of time for the two sides to find common ground.
If he wasn’t kept by N.O. is his production based on Bengals usage or improved technique and physicality?
Trey has an option, if he’s dissatisfied with Bengals negotiations, play in 25-26 season and don’t sign for less than what he wants. In 26-27 season find another team that’ll put up his asking price. There’s always a team willing to over spend on aging players that post good numbers.
He will land in Atlanta. and they will finally have a defense worth bragging about. And the Falcons lived happily ever after the end.