Report: Cincinnati Bengals Closing in on New Contract for Trey Hendrickson

The wait is nearly over. The Bengals are closing in on a new contract for star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Hendrickson is set to become one of the NFL's highest-paid defenders according to Rapoport.

"Trey's been great. Trey's been a leader," Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said Friday. "Trey's been unselfish through this whole time. He's communicating with everybody and is really trying to be a role model for the young guys and give everything he can in terms of teaching them. He's been great. It's part of the business. It's unfortunate. I'd love the opportunity to coach him, obviously, so we'll see how it plays out. That side of it is an unfortunate part of the business." 

The unfortunate side is almost over. Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks last season with 17.5. Bengals owner Mike Brown made it clear that the team planned on paying him when asked about the star pass rusher last month.

“There’s a lot of focus at the Bengals level [on a Trey extension]. I want it done and I think Trey does too," Brown said. "We like Trey as a person. He's a good guy, but when it comes to these negotiations, and we've been through a few of them with him, he pushes hard, he gets emotional. We never have an easy time of it. But there's one thing that is consistent. It always gets done, and I think this one will but we'll see. I've been proven wrong before, but I have pretty high confidence that we'll get there at the end."

Brown's prediction was right. The team and Hendrickson are finalizing the deal on Monday evening.

Not a moment too soon for the Bengals. They're hoping to get off to a hot start this season. They've started 0-2 in each of the past three years. Now they'll have plenty of time to prepare with their first-string defense now that Hendrickson is back in the fold.