Another insider claims Bengals’ asking price for Trey Hendrickson is ‘ridiculous’

This sounds about right.

The 2025 NFL offseason is officially underway as free agency is now open. The Cincinnati Bengals have been relatively quiet, both when it comes to extension news for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and bringing in much-needed help at the guard position and throughout the defense.

Defending NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson has made it known he would like to remain in Cincinnati, but he wants to be paid what he feels he’s worth. The Bengals have given him permission to seek a trade. However, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, their asking price is far too high.

“Teams are willing to pay Trey Hendrickson the contract that he desires but have found Cincinnati’s current asking price to be ‘ridiculous’ as on GM told me,” she wrote. “The Bengals can adjust as the offseason progresses, but right now, teams aren’t willing to meet their terms.”

There is a lot to unpack here, but not too much of it should come as a surprise. It’s not shocking the Bengals are looking for a first-round pick and maybe more. Now, it’s possible the gulf between the Bengals’ asking price and what other teams are willing to give up will shrink, especially as the draft season nears. If things don’t go a team’s way in free agency and in the draft, they could be compelled to give up more than they’d like for a 30-year-old pass rusher.

I think the thing that’s disappointing the most from Russini’s post, though, is the fact that multiple teams are willing to pay Hendrickson what he feels he’s worth, and the Bengals don’t appear to be one of them. He has racked up 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, and he shows no signs of slowing down. You’d think if the Bengals were really serious about putting themselves in a position to win a Super Bowl this year, they wouldn’t want to lose their only consistent pass rusher. The Bengals finished the 2024 season with 36 sacks, which put them tied for 26th in the league with the Colts. The best way to get more sacks is not to lose the guy who had 50 percent of them.

So yeah. Follow along as the Trey Hendrickon trade saga continues.