Bengals Reportedly Listening to Commerce Gives on Star DE Trey Hendrickson

As Trey Hendrickson continues his hold-in during training camp this week, the Cincinnati Bengals are listening to trade offers for the star edge rusher, NFL Media reported on Sunday. No deal is imminent, and it’s unclear if Hendrickson will wind up playing elsewhere in 2025, NFL Media added in its report.

Hendrickson and the Bengals were in a contract dispute for virtually the entire offseason, with Cincinnati allowing him to talk to other teams about a potential deal at one point. However, no deal came to fruition, and the Bengals and Hendrickson have failed to reach an agreement on a new deal as he enters the final year of his contract.

With no contract extension coming to fruition this offseason, Hendrickson wasn’t shy to share how upset he was with the team. He skipped essentially the Bengals’ entire offseason program, including mandatory minicamp, before sitting out the first few days of training camp in July. 

Hendrickson eventually ended his holdout, returning to the Bengals on July 30. That led to some optimism that a deal could get done soon, but he hasn’t practiced with the team at all.

As Hendrickson is owed $16 million in the final year of his contract, the contracts for top edge rushers have grown exponentially this offseason. T.J. Watt became the latest to earn a rich deal at the position, agreeing to a three-year, $123 million ($41 million per year) deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. Micah Parsons seems like a possibility to break that mark as well, but he’s also in a contract dispute with his team and requested a trade from the Dallas Cowboys earlier in August. 

Hendrickson, 30, might not end up breaking Watt’s record for the largest contract ever for a non-quarterback, but he has a good case of receiving a deal that would pay him at least $34 million per year, which would make him one of the five highest-paid edge rushers in the league. He has been named a Pro Bowler in all four seasons since he joined the Bengals in 2021. He has also recorded at least 14.0 sacks in three of his first four seasons in Cincinnati, including a league-high 17.5 sacks last season. 

Additionally, Hendrickson has also been good at generating pressure. He had 83 pressures and was second in pass rush win rate last season (24%). He has also finished in the top 10 in pass rush win rate among edge rushers in all four years he’s been with the Bengals.

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