Bengals' Trey Hendrickson speaks honestly about unsettled future after receiving pay raise

The Cincinnati Bengals should have veteran pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson in the lineup for their Week 1 game at the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 7 after he accepted a revised contract that gave him a $14M pay raise for the 2025 season. 

That said, Hendrickson remains on track to become an unrestricted free agent following the campaign. On Monday, he indicated he is open to signing an extension with the Bengals before the next league year opens in March 2026.

"We're taking one day at a time," Hendrickson said about his unsettled future, per Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' website. "Moving forward, we'll figure that out as it goes. For this season, to be given a raise I didn't necessarily had to have been given, it's a blessing to be in a position where I've been brought up to my peers. And also being able to get after quarterbacks. I love this city and with what's been happening the last couple of months, I've had time to reflect on what it means to me and how much I want to stay a Bengal for the 2025 season."

Hendrickson has featured for the Bengals since 2021, and StatMuse shows that he has accumulated more regular-season sacks (35) than any other player since the start of the 2023 campaign. His ability to hassle quarterbacks is why Cincinnati wanted to retain his rights through the upcoming season. However, the fact that he turns 31 years old in December seems to be the biggest reason why the franchise reportedly wasn't willing to attach guaranteed money to his deal beyond 2025. 

"Cincinnati could, theoretically, use a franchise tag on Hendrickson in the spring, but it would be wildly expensive," Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic wrote for a piece published Tuesday morning. "Next year’s tag would be 120 percent of his current cap number. While we don’t have the exact details on that cap number yet, it should land in the $30M-plus range, barring void years to spread out the cap hit, which pushes the franchise tag to $36M-$40M. That would not be happening, but the money isn’t as important as the message already sent: The club doesn’t currently have interest in 2026 Hendrickson."

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bengals at -140 betting odds to qualify for the playoffs this season. It sounds like Hendrickson is committed to helping Cincinnati pursue a return to postseason play even though it appears likely he'll have a different NFL home at this time next summer. 

"There's a tremendous amount of respect for the back and forth we had and the countless times of trying to make things work on multiple-year extensions all the way down to the raise," Hendrickson added. "And what makes sense for the family at the time, and what was presented to us. This is what's best for not only the 2025 Bengals, but also for my family personally. It's a tremendous honor to get a raise and be respected for what I do."