'Still Think It Is Very Possible' - NFL Insider Discusses Bengals Desire to Keep Trey Hendrickson Longterm

 Not much news has surfaced on the Trey Hendrickson contract front since last week's media barb trading, but NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted Cincinnati still wants to retain its best defensive player during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

The two sides revealed negotiation thoughts with the media last week, as Hendrickson brought up "respect" and "poor communication" after Katie Blackburn's comments at the NFL Owner's Meetings.

"Yeah, it's a little messy," Rapoport said. "I believe the Bengals would like to keep him and pay him and make it work. They are not in the business of letting good players go, so even when they granted him permission to seek a trade, I believe their best option was to sign him and pay him. We'll see if that happens. I still think it is very, very possible. And if that happens, despite all the mess, it'll be a really, really good offseason in Cincinnati."

The 30-year-old edge rusher is slated to make $16 million this fall in the final year of his extension with Cincinnati signed in 2023.

He is coming off a 17.5-sack season and operating in a 2025 pass rusher market that's already seen multiple players around the age-30 mark get big deals.

For more on last week's back-and-forth click here.