Trey Hendrickson has been powering Cincinnati’s pass rush since he arrived in 2021. With four consecutive Pro Bowl nods and a career-high 17.5 sacks last season, he has been the foundation of a Bengals’ defense that otherwise struggled in 2024.
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Yet, despite being the team’s most impactful defensive player and finishing second in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting, Hendrickson entered training camp this season amid a contract standoff. The 30-year-old DE even skipped team activities and stayed away from Cincinnati while negotiations continued with the front office.
Why? Well, when it came down to brass tacks, the Bengals’ offer didn’t reflect Hendrickson’s value… at least not in guaranteed years.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the issue wasn’t a lack of will or effort from the Bengals’ front office to reach an agreement. They made two offers to Hendrickson within 24 hours leading up to camp. The problem was substance.
“That contract did not look like the contract that they discussed,” Russini said on The Rich Eisen Show. “What was missing from the contract [was] that second-year guaranteed money.”
Premier pass rushers like Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt haven’t had to worry about this point. Both secured three years of guaranteed money. So, when the Bengals reportedly offered Hendrickson only one guaranteed year, he was naturally disappointed.
Also, not to forget that a DE earning just $15.8 million annually in 2025 is what the cheapest top-tier defensive deal in football looks like. Despite all this, Hendrickson showed up at camp on Wednesday. But the player insisted that his return shouldn’t be misread as progress at the negotiating table. “Things are exactly the same,” he revealed.
But then, why did he return? The DE says he’s too invested to let the contract stalemate get in the way of his team’s well-being and growth.
“The goal was always to be in Cincinnati,” Hendrickson said. “It was never something that I wasn’t gonna be here to help the 2025 Bengals… What I’m not gonna do is, as best as I can, avoid being a distraction… Being here for these guys is something I look forward to doing. I think punishing the young players and not being a part of their development would be a selfish act.”
Russini added that while Cincinnati is where Hendrickson wanted to be, he spent the early days of camp in Florida, away from the stadium, just across the street from his house. That was because “he really did not want to be a distraction.”
The thought of hearing the whistles, seeing the fans, but not being with his team was too much, the analyst said.
All told, whether or not the Bengals will agree on that second guaranteed year remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Hendrickson, by showing up and speaking out, has made his priorities clear.
The DE wants to lead, he wants to win… And yes, Hendrickson wants a deal that reflects the elite disruptor he’s become.
