Trey Hendrickson may be the guy Cincinnati moves on from first if they can’t reach agreements with their Big 3.
The Cincinnati Bengals plan this whole offseason has been to make sure to lock Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson up to long-term contracts.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic recently talked about that being the case in a report of what she has been hearing from the NFL Combine.
However, the Legal Tampering period prior to free agency is quickly approaching (March 10th) and none of the three have signed deals as of yet. Higgins was hit with the franchise tag, but that was an expected move so they could continue to negotiate exclusively with him.
The possibility that the Bengals mess up negotiations so that all three aren’t signed exists.
In that event, Russini mentions, “If the Bengals can’t get deals done with all three, Hendrickson is most likely to be the odd man out.”
Anyone who knows how the Bengals operate shouldn’t be surprised. Higgins and Chase are entering the primes of their career, and Hendrickson is going to be on the wrong side of 30.
Hendrickson has had 17.5 sacks each of the past two seasons while being pretty much the only pass-rushing threat offenses have had to worry about. That’s impressive and worthy of more than the roughly $16 million he is due in 2025, especially after leading the NFL in sacks last season.
The only reason Cincinnati may go away from their usual ways and give Hendrickson a deal is because of the State of the defense. They already have a severe lack of pass rushers and losing Hendrickson won’t help there.
There are also just a ton of holes that will need to be filled on defense, and while picks could help fill some, Hendrickson leaving creates a pit that is far harder to fill through free agency and the draft than just giving him a little more than you’re comfortable with.
From a team-building perspective, it makes sense to prioritize the mid-20-something players, but you can’t feel good about your bad defense getting even worse.
