Just when it looked like things had stalled between the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson, the two are talking again. Hendrickson and the Bengals have reportedly renewed talks to give the star defensive end a new contract ahead of the regular season, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Per Schultz, the two sides have been exploring a “unique avenue” to reach an agreement — including the possibility of increasing Hendrickson’s pay this season while still letting his contract expire at the end of the year. Schultz reported that there is “cautious optimism” that a deal will finally be reached.
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This season will mark the final year of Hendrickson’s current contract, with the defensive end set to make $15.8 million in base salary. In terms of a new deal, though, Hendrickson said last week that the holdup is due to disagreements on guaranteed money: While the Bengals are willing to guarantee money through the rest of the season, they won’t extend guarantees past that.
A new one-year deal with a larger salary for this season would resolve the issue in the short term, though Cincinnati would find themselves in this spot again next offseason.
Hendrickson and Cincinnati have been caught in a stalemate for months, with the veteran exploring a trade as long ago as March. Last week, six months after that initial trade request, the Bengals were once again exploring trade options for Hendrickson as trade talks stalled again.
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In May, Hendrickson said that he would not play this season under his current deal, saying that he had been promised a larger contract if he “continued to play at a high level.” Hendrickson had the best season of his career in 2024, recording a career-high 33 solo tackles and 19 tackles for loss, as well as a career-high-tying, and league-leading, 17.5 sacks.
Hendrickson was initially a holdout for training camp, but eventually reported to camp a week later. After reporting, he told reporters that contract talks had remained “exactly the same” despite the weeks of attempting to come to an agreement.
Hendrickson sat out of all three of the Bengals’ preseason games as part of a hold-in. Cincinnati only won one of those games, and especially struggled on defense. The team’s third and final preseason game was a decisive 41-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, with the Colts racking up 472 total yards and 26 first downs in the win.
