Bengals Legend Solomon Wilcots Weighs in on Trey Hendrickson's Contract Situation

Former Bengal Solomon Wilcots joined The Jim Rome Show earlier this week to share his thoughts on how he believes the contract dispute between the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson will resolve.


Wilcots believes that Hendrickson will get paid "north of $30 million for this upcoming season." This comes after Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that the Bengals offered their star pass rusher $28 million on a new contract.

"Many of us who are close to the team really do believe that something is going to get done," Wilcots stated. "He's set to earn a little bit more than $15 million this upcoming season. That's about one third of what Myles Garrett is getting and so much less than some of the other guys who are right in that range of $30 to $35 million a year. He does deserve and has earned the right to be paid right in that category, we believe it'll get done but at what cost. How much of the goodwill and equity will be spent on wasting time this offseason getting that deal done, they want him in training camp and he wants to be there as well."

Could Hendrickson miss regular season games due to his contract?

"I don't think so," Wilcots said. "He's a great locker room guy. He even said it last year that the reason he reported to training camp was because he believes this team can win a Super Bowl and he didn't want to be a distraction from the team.

"He could show up and not practice, but as long as he's there they can't fine him and as long as he dresses out for the first game of the regular season, his contract will be paid in full for the entire year. So it could still be kind of dramatic, but him being there could serve as a huge distraction if he's not participating in practice and if he's not playing."

Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract. He's due $15.8 million in base salary as part of the one-year, $21 million extension he signed in July 2023.

Watch Wilcots' conversation with Rome here.