The Bengals start training camp in just over a month, and it would behoove them to extend their All-Pro edge rusher beforehand.
Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and the team’s front office have reportedly resumed communication for a potential contract extension. That’s a good thing.
The not-so-good thing is that communication may not be moving rapidly. That’s according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, who provided an update on the situation Wednesday afternoon on the Pat McAfee Show.
“They’re talking again, but they’re not any further along,” Schefter said. “They’re talking. It doesn’t mean a whole lot right now. It’ll mean something if and when they can figure out a way to get a deal done, which they’ve been unable to do so far. And I think there’s a disagreement over value.
“And I think the most important thing is also a disagreement on length here, the length of the deal. I think that’s also an issue here. The Bengals would like a shorter deal. Hendrickson would like a longer deal, and they can’t even find common ground on the length of the deal right now.”
Training camp starts in five weeks from today. That’s 35 days, the same number of sacks Hendrickson has had over the last two seasons combined. Hendrickson led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024.
It shouldn’t be this complicated. The Bengals have gotten better this offseason at paying their stars. Three of the four players Joe Burrow campaigned for have been signed. Hendrickson is the only player remaining to be signed.
If the Bengals’ front office and the Bengals’ star edge rusher get the deal done, this team could be off and running and going into training camp.
