Atlanta Falcons Would Love To Have Trey Hendrickson, But It's Complicated

That veteran may very well be the Cincinnati Bengals' Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson is in the final year of his deal, which includes $15.8 million of non-guaranteed money. He has stated that he is not in the business of playing for incentives to wrap up his career. Recently, Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn stated that Hendrickson should be satisfied with the terms of the deal.

Hendrickson would follow up with "That was a little disappointing because communication has been poor over the last couple of months." That's something I hold in high regard. They have not communicated with my agent directly. It's been something that's been a little frustrating, but again, this is the business of it. I'm incredibly blessed to be in the NFL, and I'm excited to be a Bengal, right?"

Hendrickson, now 30 years old, is looking for security at this point. If not for Atlanta having the massive contract of Kirk Cousins still in play, the team may have already made a move to sign the veteran edge rusher. Hendrickson has half as many sacks in the last two seasons as Atlanta had as a whole in 2024, with 17.5 sacks. 

If not for Atlanta having over $100 million invested in Cousins, they could quickly build around Penix Jr. to lead the charge on both sides of the football. Although Falcons fans would be ecstatic to have Hendrickson's services to ride it out in Atlanta until retirement with a mega contract, and making an immense contribution, unfortunately, now is not the time.