The defensive end is currently holding out in hopes of a major payday.
It feels like the 100th off-season in a row that the Cincinnati Bengals and a star player are having contract negotiation issues.
This offseason, it’s been defensive end Trey Hendrickson looking for a contract extension and pay raise after tallying 35 total sacks in the past two seasons.
Multiple reports indicate that Hendrickson is looking for north of $30M a year and that the Bengals have offered the defensive end around $28M.
As the situation currently stands, Hendrickson still has one year and $16M left on his current contract with Cincinnati.
Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr is not so convinced about the current holdout for an extension and believes Hendrickson will ‘cave’ and take the Bengal’s best offer before the season kicks off.
Orr wrote, “The alternative is to become Haason Reddick, which, for a player entering his age-31 season, cannot be appetizing. By taking the Bengals’ reported current offer, Hendrickson can upgrade his salary by nearly $12 million and, while still being underpaid, improve upon his prospects for next offseason more by staying in Cincinnati than he could as a year-to-year mercenary for less on another roster.”
It is a unique situation as well because both sides need each other… Hendrickson is a veteran, and this is likely his final massive payday; on the flip side, the Bengals have almost no chance of winning a Super Bowl without him.
Both sides need each other because there is less than a zero percent chance the Bengals will trade 91.
Get the deal done.