Speaking to Kelsey Conway at the Senior Bowl, Bengals de facto GM Duke Tobin said the plan is to try and sign DE Trey Hendrickson to a contract extension this offseason.
Whether or not the two sides will be successful is a much more open question, per Tobin.
“Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension … he has,” Tobin said. “We’re cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is, is what is to be determined.”
Hendrickson wanted a new deal from Cincinnati last offseason after believing he’d outplayed his current contract, which at the time had two years left on it. The veteran requested a trade before ultimately playing out the 2024 season and leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks.
However, the Bengals have a lot of different priorities to juggle which could make it tricky for the two sides to agree on a number both are happy with. Conway notes the Bengals traditionally don’t like giving second contracts to players over 30 but are willing to make an exception with Hendrickson. It could still impact how high they’re willing to go, though.
The Bengals also have to balance big-money deals for QB Joe Burrow, WR Ja’Marr Chase and possibly WR Tee Higgins while also rebuilding a defense that was awful outside of Hendrickson.
“We can’t have guys at the top of the payroll in every position, right?” Tobin said. “We’ll do what we can. We’ll do what we feel is right, and we will try to get Trey re-signed. It’s not giving anybody an extension. It’s agreeing with somebody on an extension.”
Hendrickson, 30, was selected with the No. 103 overall pick by the Saints out of Florida Atlantic in 2017. He finished his four-year rookie contract worth $3,106,288, which included a signing bonus of $706,284.
Hendrickson then signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Bengals back in 2021 and went on to appear in the Super Bowl for the team. Cincinnati signed him to a one-year extension through 2025 in 2023.
He’s due a base salary of $15.8 million in the final year of his contract in 2025.
In 2024, Hendrickson appeared in all 17 games for the Bengals and recorded 46 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and six pass defenses.
We’ll have more on Hendrickson as the news is available.
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