NFL Legend Chimes in on Trey Hendrickson's Situation With Cincinnati Bengals

NFL legend JJ Watt made some interesting comments after seeing Trey Hendrickson's statement about the Bengals' lack of communication with the star pass rusher about a new contract.

Hendrickson claims the Bengals promised him last offseason that they'd take care of him this offseason. He led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024. Watt believes the Bengals are balking after Hendrickson had arguably the best year of his career.

"I assume it went something like this: Last offseason: 'We can’t/don’t want to do a deal now, but we’ll make you right next offseason and get it done early.'" Watt tweeted. "Player has great season… This offseason: Lowball offer and/or crickets. Pay a fair price early or pay top dollar later. Teams want to treat it like a business, but don’t like it when players do the same."

Hendrickson is entering the last year of his contract. He's set to make $16 million in base salary after signing a one-year, $21 million extension prior to the 2023 season.

“No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft," Hendrickson said in a statement to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday. "The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level. Coaches are aware of these past conversations. Rather than using collaboration to get us to a point to bring me home to the team, they are no longer communicating. I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of this situation, but that’s hard to do when there is no discussion and an evident lack of interest in reaching mutual goals.”

There's no deadline for the Bengals to sign Hendrickson to a long-term contract, but having him happy and in attendance for training camp would make sense for a team that started 1-3 last season and has gotten off to a slow start in each of the past three years.