The Cincinnati Bengals have signed their big-play wide receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, to long term extensions at record numbers. They are both happy as they are getting their money and do not have to worry about going back to the negotiating table for a while.
Now, Mike Brown and Katie Blackburn, chief negotiators for the Bengals, have to deal with edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. They had granted Hendrickson the right to seek a trade and see if he can make a better deal with another team.
The Bengals have decided they will not trade Hendrickson, but they would rather negotiate an extension with him.
Hendrickson, who is entering into the final year of his contact, would like to get a new deal done before the start of training camp.
They are going to have to keep in mind that the Houston Texans signed Danielle Hunter to a one-year $36.5 million extension for 2026. That could be the jumping off point for Hendrickson and his representatives.
Fox Sports insider Jordan Schultz said the Bengals are ready to negotiate with Hendrickson and commit to him long term.
“The organization and ownership are fully prepared to move forward and attempt to negotiate a deal with him,” Schultz said. “I don’t believe they want to trade him at all. And I would actually say, after talking to multiple people involved, that they reached the conclusion that a trade is really off the table.”
Hendrickson, who played collegiately at Florida Atlantic University, arrived in Cincinnati in 2021. Since then he has made four Pro Bowls and had back-to-back 17.5 sack seasons. If the Bengals traded Hendrickson, or lost him next season in free agency, it would create a big hole in the Cincinnati defense.
It has been reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that Hendrickson could be seeking a deal with annual average value of over $30 million a year.
“I know they would like to keep him in the building,” Rapoport said. “They would like to pay him, and I think they would like people to stop saying, ‘Why don’t the Bengals pay their guys?'”
