The Cincinnati Bengals have botched their relationship with Trey Hendrickson at every turn since they signed him as a free agent to spark their run to Super Bowl LVI. Sadly, Hendrickson has been sidelined of late with a pelvis injury, and the latest news ain’t great.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced on Monday that Hendrickson was already doubtful for Week 14’s critical road trip to Buffalo. That doesn’t exactly bode well for Cincinnati’s chances to win versus Josh Allen.

Trey Hendrickson already doubtful for this weekend against Buffalo, according to Zac Taylor.

Says he is mostly working with trainers behind scenes. As for future return, still taking it “week to week.”

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 1, 2025

While it does help to have Joe Burrow back under center for Cincinnati, the defense will need to continue its recent improvement to keep the season alive this coming Sunday.

There is reason to believe that can happen. However, Hendrickson’s outlook doesn’t get any easier to assess in light of Taylor’s injury update.

Trey Hendrickson’s nagging injury further complicates his future & Bengals’ team-building plans

When the Bengals refused to give Hendrickson a multi-year extension on the heels of two straight 17.5-sack seasons, I called their compromise, and I self-quoth, “a franchise-damaging half measure.”

To some degree, it’s nice to be proven wrong about Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy. I did not agree with Duke Tobin and Co’s decision to stick with those two guys. Ossai has come on strong of late, and Murphy actually looks like he might be worthy of the 2023 first-round pick Cincinnati spent on him. Better late than never!

Here’s the thing. The Bengals are 3-8 because they couldn’t get their defensive dung together fast enough.

Like I want to be optimistic about what the recent surge on defense means for 2026 Bengals. At the same time, ehh? It’s possible that Ossai defying my Waiting for Godot moniker for him will cause his exit in free agency. That or Cincinnati will pay him a bizarre amount of money whilst neglecting Hendrickson, or franchise tagging him.

See this is where the Hendrickson of it all gets super complex. He comes across like the ultimate competitor like Burrow, who’d play if he was at all capable. That said, unless the Bengals win the AFC North with an 8-9 record, they have literally zero margin for error the rest of the season.

The stakes are getting higher. The games might actually start to mean something if the Bengals hang in the hunt for the division crown.

Can Cincinnati really bank on the likes of Ossai, Murphy, and the rest of the defensive ends to perform big against quality opponents? Their recent showings suggest it’s possible. It’s just that Hendrickson is far and away the best pure pass rusher on this roster and it’s not close.

The longer Hendrickson doesn’t play, the riskier it is that the season could slip away without an elite pass rusher on the field. The longer Hendrickson is sidelined, given the severity of his injury, the more challenging of a decision Cincinnati faces as to whether he’s franchise tagged. And the more dubious it is to try to press him back into duty, where he might suffer a setback and really cloudy his future for both himself and the organization.