The Bengals are having problems that come with building successful rosters. As the team has developed into a formidable competitor, some people deserve to be paid. And like every other successful team ever, even the Bengals can’t afford to keep all their top-tier talent together. And Trey Hendrickson seems to be on the losing side.
Advertisement
With Tee Higgins already on shaky grounds, the Bengals front office must feel helpless. As per Bengals beat reporter, Kelsey Conway, last year, the Bengals’ offer was not taken up well by Hendrickson’s side. And this year, he unsurprisingly asked for a trade that was shut down by the team later, she told Pat McAfee.
Last year, they asked for an extension to secure his long-term interest and future in Cincinnati. But they refused and instead gave him a bump that increased his 2023 pay by $5 million. Conway says he unwillingly accepted the ‘olive branch’ offered by the franchise since the elite edge rusher has taken a liking to the city. But the year unfolded with him getting 17.5 sacks, taking him to the top tier of edge rushers in the league. And thus, the man wanted his bag.
After putting up such a monstrous headline on his resume, Hendrickson went back to the management looking for a proper extension this time. Alas, the team was not all in, and in the words of the beat reporter, “The Bengals said thank you but no thank you.” But they have convinced him to stay for another year.
And check out how things roll out. He remains a top-paid rusher but at the same time, there’s a big margin between the top 5 and his compensation. This might be the point of friction between the two parties. Not to mention, the Bengals are not giving him a long-time commitment.
Hendrickson himself has verbalized multiple times that he wants to stay in Cincinnati. But according to Conway, his agent believes that the value he’s generating for the team, and the value reflected in his bank balance are not amicable at the moment. Thus, he requested a trade that might take him to another contending team at some point. Since, for now, he has shut down the trade talk.
Two minutes with Trey Hendrickson.
Will he play for the Bengals this season: “Oh, yeah. No doubt. That’s a no brainer. I love this team.”
On the trade request, returning to practice, staying in Cincinnati and separating business and football. pic.twitter.com/0PxQZKxqrw
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) May 14, 2024
If they cannot come to a conclusion by next year’s end though, it might be time up for the elite edge rusher. Despite his wishes to play for the Bengals, at some point, the miles on his body are going to run up. He has already considered retirement as well.
So how long he be in there fighting it out, who knows? But the Bengals surely won’t be able to afford his elite talent going forward. Meanwhile, Joe Burrows is back from his wrist injury, but still not playing up a storm in the OTAs.
Cincinnati Bengals Get a Buffed-Up Joe Burrow
The beat reporter from the Bengals also revealed information about the starting quarterback Joe Burrow and how he has come back after wrist surgery. She believes that he isn’t testing it under very high pressure as both their starting WRs are not at the OTAs, thus he is only throwing to the rookies and the TEs.
As far as the first impressions in a new league year go, Conway told Pat McAfee’s panel, “He’s put on a lot of weight. And he said that he added a lot of weight in the offseason. He changed his diet.” Although he did not reveal what these changes are, they are aimed at making him “bigger and stronger than he’s ever been.”
Burrow wants to take the pressure off his offensive line as much as possible. If that means being as strong as possible so that he can take the hits that seep through, then so be it, seems like he is up for the challenge.
