Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates as time winds down in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Trey Hendrickson on NEW Bengals Contract, Returning to Practice Ahead of 2025 Season

CINCINNATI — When the Bengals signed Trey Hendrickson to a re-worked one-year contract, a lot of people assumed that there would be a no-tag clause in the deal.

Not only is that not the case, but it’s realistic to think the Bengals could use the franchise tag on Hendrickson next March.

The Bengals signed Hendrickson to a new contract last month that gave him a $13 million pay raise (from $16 million to $29 million). His salary cap number is $25,166,668 according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports.

The Bengals added a void year to the deal, which lessens the cap hit this season and opens the door for them to use the franchise tag on Hendrickson next year.

If Hendrickson is tagged next year, his contract will be 120% of his prior year’s salary: $30.2 million.

The cap hit will be a bit larger, but still digestible for the Bengals: $36.7 million. Hendrickson didn’t seem worried about getting tagged last month, but it’s certainly possible if he plays well this season.

“With the salaries going up and the tag also will be going up, so it’s not something that I’m concerned about,” Hendrickson said last month. “I have to focus on what the 2025 Bengals means to me. And I want to be a part of something special here. I’m vocalize that pretty early and often again I can’t write my own contracts. I think we’d all, as players, love to do that. There wasn’t one that I saw long-term that I would have considered. So again this compromise comes with a great amount of respect for me towards them. I’m incredibly honored and appreciative that I can play football at this level this week.”

Hendrickson had three tackles and one sack in the Bengals’ 17-16 win over the Browns on Sunday.

Allowing the void year with no no-tag clause means the franchise tag for Hendrickson is $30.2M (with an effective cap hit of $36.7M) instead of $38M in 2026.

Maybe the tag never comes up, but it can, and that's bad business for the player's side here. https://t.co/PTJfCzUNGj

— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) September 9, 2025