Trey Hendrickson is still waiting for that contract extension.
Last offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher requested a trade after a contract impasse. A move never came. Neither did a new contract. All Hendrickson did was go out and lead the NFL with 17.5 sacks -- 3.5 more than the next closest player.
Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin told Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday that Hendrickson has earned a new deal, but it takes two to tango.
"Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension … he has," Tobin said. "We're cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is, is what is to be determined."
Hendrickson is set to earn $16 million in 2025, with zero guaranteed dollars in the final year of his pact. The $21 million-per-year average on his contract is the 11th-highest among edge rushers, behind the likes of Nick Bosa ($34 million annually), Josh Hines-Allen ($28.25 million), Brian Burns ($28.2 million), T.J. Watt ($28.002 million), Myles Garrett ($25 million) and others. The $16 million in cash this season is 17th at his position.
Cincinnati generally eschews giving players extensions over the age of 30, content to let veterans walk and replace them with younger, cheaper talent. Tobin sounds willing to make an allowance for Hendrickson, but not if it means breaking the bank.
The Bengals have roughly $46 million in salary cap space entering 2025. Still, with Ja'Marr Chase in line for a contract that likely makes him the highest-paid receiver, questions about whether they can hang onto Tee Higgins, and Joe Burrow already making $55 million per year, Tobin can't just toss money around.
"We can't have guys at the top of the payroll in every position, right?" Tobin said. "We'll do what we can. We'll do what we feel is right, and we will try to get Trey re-signed. It's not giving anybody an extension. It's agreeing with somebody on an extension."
Given the undertone of Tobin's comments, if I were a GM of another club with cap space, I'd call the Bengals to see what it might take to pry the NFL's sack leader out of Cincy.
