Running Down What Bengals Front Office Said About Trey Hendrickson and How Optimistic a Resolution Feels

CINCINNATI – While comments about the standoff with rookie first-round pick Shemar Stewart grabbed most of the attention at the Cincinnati Bengals pre-camp media luncheon, it’s not the only high-profile contract the franchise is negotiating.

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson is looking for a new deal as well, and the timing and tenor of his situation was much more favorable.

“I could get into the negotiation, but I’m not looking to offend Trey by saying something, and I’m not looking to try to justify where we are,” team owner and president Mike Brown said. “I think we’re in a good spot. I hope this thing comes together soon, and I’m going to leave it at that.”

Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract which will pay him $16 million in base salary as part of the one-year, $21 million extension he signed in July 2023.

After recording 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons – and leading the NFL in the category in 2024 – Hendrickson wants a new contract that pay him among the best at his position over the next few years.

Hendrickson said in May that he will not play for the Bengals this year on his current contract, which would intimate he doesn’t plan on practicing either.

The first practice of training camp is Wednesday.

“Trey is an important part of our team, and he’s under contract,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said. “We expect all of our guys under contract to be here. That's what we expect. I can't speak for him.”

Hendrickson will face fines if he doesn’t report, but he could show up and just watch practice the way wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase did last summer.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he spoke with Hendrickson a couple of days ago but didn’t want to divulge what was said.

“We’ll see where it goes,” he said.

Unlike the Stewart negotiations, the Hendrickson appears to be moving in a positive direction.

The Bengals want to give him a new contract. But the two sides still differ on the total value and length of the deal.

“He's a guy who has been very valuable,” Tobin said. “He's earned a raise and an extension, and we'll continue to see if we can come together on something. Having good players is a good problem to have, and we've got a lot of good players, and we've got a lot of highly-paid players, and fitting it together is what we're working for.”

The edge rusher market exploded this offseason with Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (four years, $160 million), Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby (three years, $106.5 million) and, on Friday, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt (three years, $123 million) signing massive contracts.

And Dallas’ Micah Parsons is expected to top Watt’s average annual salary of $41 million per year, the highest of any non-quarterback in league history.

Hendrickson, who turns 31 in December and is two months younger than Watt, said during his impromptu news conference in May that he isn’t asking to be the highest paid player at his position.

He’s asking for long-term security and to be compensated fairly.

Given the standoff with Stewart and the struggle to get much of a pass rush from anyone other than Hendrickson last year, there should be some urgency for the Bengals to finalize the deal and get the NFL’s sack leader on the field for the start of camp.

“There's always urgency,” Tobin said. “We'd like to get something done. I wouldn't have said we wanted to give him a raise and an extension if I wasn't serious about it. So whether it happens early or late, I don't know, but right now he's a part of our football team. I think that gets lost in the shuffle a little bit.”

It’s a reminder that the Bengals don’t have to make a deal. They can simply tell Hendrickson he is under contract and force him to either play on it or sit out and forfeit nearly $1 million per week.

Brown doesn’t need any reminders.

He also doesn’t see any need to talk about that option.

“I'm not going to say very much until it gets done,” he said. “And then I'm just going to say we're glad to have him, which we are, or will be.”