Bengals’ Trading Trey Hendrickson Deemed Inevitable By Analyst originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
As they pack their bags for training camp next week, the Cincinnati Bengals remain at a stalemate with superstar pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, all but predicting another holdout due to his contract extension disagreements.
This continued saga has fueled trade rumors as Hendrickson’s future with the Bengals remains uncertain. Cincinnati has expressed that they would like to keep their defensive cornerstone, but if they cannot come to a new deal sometime during training camp, a separation could become inevitable. After all, Hendrickson has threatened to hold out regular season play, which would make matters worse for everybody.
CBS Sports analyzed some major storylines across the NFL ahead of training camp week, and Jeff Kerr labeled the possibility of a Hendrickson trade as a “reality” rather than an “overreaction”.
“Cincinnati has failed to give Hendrickson an extension after paying Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins this offseason, which was the Bengals’ top priority,” Kerr said. “They want to keep Hendrickson and haven’t entertained trade offers for him, but Hendrickson may force their hand.”
Hendrickson hasn’t appeared in front of the media since a surprise press conference at the Bengals facility when he expressed his frustrations, and since a report came about about re-opened conversations, we have yet to see any progress. The explanation could probably be the terms of value, and Kerr believes it’s a worthy debate.
“How much Hendrickson is worth makes this difficult. Hendrickson is 30 years old and won’t be getting $40 million a season like Myles Garrett or $35 million a season like Maxx Crosby — but he should be in the ballpark. Unless he gets near Crosby’s salary, the Bengals will have issues signing him. ”
Obviously Cincy would like to keep Hendrickson, but the defensive end “has the leverage”, as Kerr says. Last year’s sack leader has done plenty in proving his candidacy as one of the game’s best, thus deserving of a high figure.
If no contract is reached early in training camp or August, more and more teams will come calling. That could leave the Bengals no choice but to entertain an option and get some type of return for Hendrickson if they can’t get his services on the field.
