We’ve heard it before; the Bengals do not typically give out third contracts to veterans. The exceptions they did make were on the defensive line, with players like Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins, but they just can’t seem to get across the finish line with star defensive end Trey Hendrickson. On a recent SportsCenter appearance, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler broke down the latest on the extension negotiations between the two parties. 
Back during voluntary workouts Hendrickson had expressed that things were starting to get personal. These sentiments seem to be echoed by the team’s most recent first-round pick, Shemar Stewart, who told the media that the Bengals prioritize winning contract arguments over winning games. Regardless, Hendrickson returned to the table in recent weeks, and the two sides have been communicating as they work towards an extension. While that’s all good news, it hasn’t yet led to Hendrickson putting pen to paper.
Per Fowler, Cincinnati wants desperately to get this done. They came into the offseason with the goal of extending its three stars. Wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins enjoyed their impressive new contracts together all the way back in March when a joint announcement delivered the news of both players’ extensions. Three and a half months later, and the team is still chipping away at that third star.
The big hurdle here, according to Fowler, appears to be structure. When structuring extensions, Cincinnati doesn’t typically spread guaranteed money evenly throughout the contract, preferring instead to focus guarantees mostly in Year 1 of the new deal, usually in the form of the signing bonus. This makes it easier for the team to back out of a long-term deal early without having to shoulder the burden of excessive dead money.
Teams that operate in this fashion are part of the reason we’ve seen a push from players who desire fully guaranteed contracts. As we saw in the recent NFLPA’s collusion grievance arbitration ruling, though, the NFL appears to be highly motivated to steer the league away from full guarantees.
Hendrickson feels as if he’s earned more long-term security, and it’s going to be hard to disagree. The 30-year-old appears to be aging like fine wine. After a quiet first three years in New Orleans, in which he only accumulated 6.5 sacks, Hendrickson exploded in a contract year with 13.5. The breakout season led him to Cincinnati on a four-year, $60MM deal, and he rewarded his new team with a new career-high 14.0 sacks. Only eight sacks in 2022 qualified that season as a “down” year for Hendrickson before he rebounded with another new career-high 17.5 sacks in 2023 and repeated that total in 2024.
After his first 17.5-sack season, Hendrickson held out in an effort to put pressure on the team’s front office for an extension. When a deal wasn’t reached, the Bengals added a one-year, $21MM extension to his contract to effectively kick the can down the road to this offseason, giving them a bit more time to work towards a deal. Hendrickson has made it clear this offseason that he has no intention of playing for the Bengals on his current contract. The one additional year will, apparently, not work a second time.
Hendrickson also threatened back in May that he was prepared to hold out into the regular season, if that’s what it takes. According to Fowler, he is still very willing to follow through on that threat. Hendrickson is looking for big money. for sure, but more importantly, he wants big money in multiple years. After putting forth his best seasons in Years 7 & 8 of his career, he wants the Bengals to have faith that he’ll be able to deliver into the later years of his contract.
Bengals had one of the worst D’s last year and now won’t pay either DE (Trey and the rookie)? OK.
Stewart is a rookie who has proven nothing in the NFL. He proved very little in college as a matter of fact.
Your statement is meaningless, the Bengals drafted him and refuse to sign him to fair market deal.
I don’t blame the Bengals on either front.
For Stewart , the Bengals just want the same language in the contract that the majority of the league already has. Simply stating that if Stewart is suspended for anything (PED, criminal etc….) that his guarantees are void …
The rest of the league has it why can’t the Bengals.
Hendrickson sacks the QB well. That’s it. Not a ton of tackles , not good against the run … average at best at everything except sacking the QB. Let him sit out.
Everyone’s quick to bash the Bengals when they don’t really know what’s going on. I hope neither signs. Especially Hendrickson as he’s aging and not worth it for just sacks.
Let Him Hold Out
No Play = No Pay
No play no playOFFS
No one cares anymore. He’s going to sit out a year and according to several sources he will still owe the Bengals a year because he is already signed for this year.His options are,
play 1 year at 28-30 this year or next, or retire. I don’t know what he thinks he’s going to accomplish. Trying to win a staring contest with Mike Brown will not end well. (Ask Carson Palmer) I personally am tired of his drama queen act. The Bengals DON’T want you for 2 or 3 years, are you that big of a rock head that you think you can force yourself on the team.
He needs to show up for 6 games to get credit for the year. Without practice and training he will Pull a hammy or other so he does not really play those games. He will then be healthy during fa. If he plays, ge risks huge injury. Im not saying if his plan us the best, but no he does not need to actually play another snap to earn free agency. May ways to work the system. At this point the Bengals should pay or trade for their own self interest
It seems like the Bengals owners and many of their fans have not seen the paradigm shift. Used to be that all around the league, the NFL teams held all the cards because if you did not play, you did not earn the ability to get out of the contract the next season.
But as you stated, a player only has to show up for 6 games. Plus, these guys are always hurt (every NFL player plays hurt) that in essence you don’t even have to physically play 6 games because you can essentially take yourself out of games for injuries.
Most NFL franchises have moved on from those outdated concepts, and highly value their most productive players and exactly at this point, with 1 year left on the contract, actually give their top players new contracts.
My opinion, the Bengals have bungled this one badly. They are going to lose, just like they did when they let Andrew Whitworth go. You don’t let guys go that can help you win Super Bowls — or maybe the Bengals will continue to do so.
@Man What Runs With the Football Carson Palmer won. He was traded and went on for another 7-10 year NFL career.
Bengals are a dumpster
Don’t you mean Trey is a dumba**? Why pay a guy for more years than they want him. They offered 1 year at 30 and he refused it. He can’t seem to understand they don’t want him after this year. Hope he sits out, then he’ll still owe them a year because he’s still under contract for this year. His only option is to retire because he’ll have to play for them for a year before he goes somewhere else.
Trash organization
Nah that organization is awful and there’s no beating around the bush.
If they don’t want to pay him for more than one year, they should have traded him and received future assets. Stupid FO handling of the situation and player.
Your idea that he is beholden to the team needs and should simply accept a year or retire is laughable. This is realistically Hendrickson’s last shot at a long term contract before age is actively used against him in negotiations. He’s doing what he should do to leverage his position for fair market value. It’s the business of being an athlete.
You’re simping pretty hard for an org that has repeatedly proven the front office is the problem, not the players.
This feels like Andrew Whitworth all over who went on for 5 more seasons as starting left tackle for the Rams and then won a Super Bowl after going to the Rams. He wanted to be loyal to the Bengals.
Read the parallels to today:
link to espn.com
Trey and his agent are smart enough to be on the active roster to get to the 6 games. Then the Bengals don’t have his rights for next year.
I appreciate you sharing your opinion that they should not pay him.
I disagree with that opinion, but I respect your right to voice it.
Where you are clearly off is that he will not be a Bengal next year because, he will not owe the Bengals a season. My gosh, last year Hasaan Reddick did it for the Jets and just kind of played a little bit when he wanted to then got his free agency and he is half the player of Trey Hendrickson.
Trey is getting older and has played like a wild man for his whole career, so he’s not exactly in great shape, musculoskeletal wise. That and the fact if he comes in and plays like he’s not in game shape,( which he won’t be if he sits out training camp) he’s going to look even older. Not a great audition tape for someone he expects to pay him 40+ million a year. Because then they have to wonder if he’s getting old or was the last year an anomaly. That’s part of my reasoning for taking his 28-30 million and balling out this year. But I don’t think agents actually have their clients best interests at heart a lot of the time. It’s all about the Benjamins and Trey is about at the end of his earning years. Plus I believe most agents like to think they have the upper hand, and get a bruised ego when an owner tells them and their client to go pound said.
feel bad for cincy that their stuck with the nfl version of john fisher
Bengals have some messy contractual issues, but nowhere near Fisher level. Fisher would have traded Burrow, Chase, and Higgins for cents on the dollar before they needed to get paid, and then moved the team citing low attendance after the trades. Fisher is the worst of the worst.
Maybe sitting out for a year will do wonders for his career like it did for L Bell.
Stewart actually made money in college, so he doesn’t have to just take whatever the Bengals offer him. I hope he just goes home, ignores their calls, and re-enters the draft next year. Trey, on the other hand, is pretty much stuck. He has to play at least part of the season to still be a free agent next year.
He does have to take the salary that his draft slot dictates. He can negotiate some details such as guarantees and offsets, but that’s about it.
I don’t think Trey is stuck. There was always the possibility he outplayed his one year extension. The year was added as insurance against him having a down year or an injury in his walk year. Neither party viewed the extension at the time of signing as a viable contract if Hendrickson continued to produce at an elite level. It’s not how business works for producing veterans in the NFL anywhere, even the Bengals.
Maybe one day Ohio will have a pro football team that isn’t a dumpster fire.
Too much $ in their QB and WR rooms. Their defense is atrocious, are they just hoping they can win in shootouts? I can’t see them competing.
I just read somewhere (maybe here) that Burrow said his wrist still isn’t 100%.
I think they realized that Burrow is vastly overrated. They knew that without top shelf talent he can’t perform. That’s why instead of using the money to fix that garbage defense, they over paid Higgins. Burrow couldn’t get it done at Ohio state and only flourished when he was at LSU with Chase and Jefferson in Joe Brady’s Offense. Without Joe Mixon and Tyler Boyd, he hasn’t been back to the playoffs.
Interesting take that Burrows is vastly overrated.
I always appreciate guys that make their own assessments and assumptions. It keeps the dialogue going – so thanks for sharing.
That being said, I think you are clearly wrong on Burrow:
1. He is one of the best QBs in the league.
and
2. Cincinnati ownership knows that Burrows is a baller.
and
3. He not only passes the statistics check mark but the eyeball check mark.
Thanks for the discourse and share anything else that comes to your mind.
Not much discourse.. I made points and the best you could do was he is a top QB. Do you have any rebuttal to my points?
Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league but I agree with the too much money on their WR.
There was no reason to give Higgins all of that money when you have Burrow throwing the ball and playing opposite of Ja’Marr Chase. You can throw any decent receiver in there and they will put up good stats.
Let’s keep the rumor mill going: to the Falcons he goes!