Analyst predicts how Bengals' Trey Hendrickson, Shemar Stewart sagas will end

The Cincinnati Bengals remain involved in contract standoffs with veteran pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson and 2025 first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart as Cincinnati rookie players prepare to report to training camp this weekend. 

On Wednesday, NFL analyst Ben Solak of ESPN predicted how the Bengals-related sagas will end. 

"I remain confident that the two most obvious things will happen in Cincinnati: The Bengals will reach an extension with Hendrickson that makes him a top-three highest-paid defensive player in football, and they will give Stewart the rookie contract language he seeks so he can start practicing," Solak wrote. 

Hendrickson requested a trade in April 2024 but ultimately played for the Bengals during the 2024 season. According to StatMuse, his 35 sacks over the past two campaigns are the most in the NFL in that period. The 30-year-old is in the final year of his current deal and understandably is looking to cash in after Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns reset the market by signing a four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed earlier in the offseason. 

That said, T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons are also expected to land lucrative extensions before Week 1 of the upcoming season. Parsons will almost certainly best Garrett's deal, and such a development could alter Hendrickson's asking price. 

As for Stewart, he hasn't yet signed his rookie contract due to disputes over language attached to the agreement that could allow the Bengals to void future guarantees. On Wednesday, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote that Stewart potentially attempting to return to college for the 2025 season could cause the Bengals to "cave on their ill-advised position that Stewart will be the first Cincinnati player to be expected to accept more onerous language regarding the voiding of guarantees, with no corresponding concession in the negotiations." 

Cincinnati signed wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, wideout Tee Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki to new deals after quarterback Joe Burrow led the NFL for the 2024 season with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns through the air. As of Wednesday, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bengals fourth among the betting favorites at +1000 odds to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LX.

Solak added that "Hendrickson seems to have more internal locker room support for a prolonged holdout than any other player I can remember," because "everyone in a Bengals uniform knows he has carried that defense for a long time." 

If nothing else, it could be interesting to see how those Cincinnati players react if the club fails to finalize agreements with both Hendrickson and Stewart before it opens the preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 7.