Bengals exec has 'a ton of respect' for Trey Hendrickson, but actions say otherwise

The Cincinnati Bengals have put themselves in a tight spot — entirely of their own making.

That's what happens when you mess around and find out re: not rewarding your biggest stars with contract extensions that err on the side of early, rather than tardy. Such is life with back-to-back 17.5-sack artist Trey Hendrickson.

What else can be said about the man? The man is a man amongst grown men in the NFL. Not a mere son of Hendrick as his surname would suggest.

So why the delay? Why won't Cincinnati pay Trey today, bay-bay? Probably a combination of age, a warped organizational perception that he's about to decline, and a dash of vintage Bengals cheapskatery.

For his part, director of pro personnel/de facto GM (because the Bengals can't do things like, you know, name their key front office leaders with normal titles) Duke Tobin claims to hold Hendrickson in high esteem. And yet...

Well. Let's dig in to what Tobin said on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Duke Tobin heaps praise on Trey Hendrickson amid contract hold-in

Hendrickson has been the consummate pro he's always been by reporting to Bengals camp and coaching up the younger players while in street clothes, patiently awaiting a new deal. It has not come to pass.

Now while I don't want to exclude The Sisters Blackburn or owner Mike Brown from the Pie Chart of Trey Blame, I would imagine Duke Tobin has quite a lot of say over personnel decisions. Based on his job title and all.

So first, read Tobin's words in the previously-linked-to radio interview:

"I got a ton of respect for Trey. Trey's a fierce player. That’s what we look for — we don't want guys that are on the periphery. We want guys that are in the mix, he's in the mix. I know he loves football. I know he loves the camaraderie in football, the preparation in football, the practice in football. So all those things, I know he loves, and I've got so much regard and respect. And hopefully, we can get this thing going to where he's active and up and running and helping the Cincinnati Bengals and his teammates win games. And he can help."

...But then consider the actions. I mean it doesn't take an expert in behavioral psychology to conclude that the words/actions ain't matching up.

Because if Tobin really did respect Hendrickson as he claims to, this contract would've been done last offseason. Even back then, Hendrickson requested a trade out of Cincinnati due to how fed up he was. He'd rattled off a career-high 17.5 sacks in 2023, and the figurative price of the brick should've gone up.

However, Hendrickson, class act that he is, played ball with the short-changing Bengals. He played a full season, knowing that he was being compensated far below market value for the production he provided. All he did was literally match that sack total this past season.

Tobin and the Bengals seriously have the nerve to let him sit out and are egging him on to play for less than $19 million for the year. Worse, they reportedly refuse to offer him a contract that features guarantees beyond the first season of the deal.

Heinous organizational malpractice if you ask me. It's not like the historically cheap Bengals don't have the fiscal resources to get this done, either. Allow me to explain.

Bengals' cheapness toward Trey Hendrickson will cost them in the future

According to OverTheCap.com, Cincinnati has a projected $51+ million in 2026 cap space to play with and zero other must-retain free agents as things stand with those other players now. There's also north of $114 million of salary cap room to play with in 2027, with the only likely big extensions coming for Orlando Brown Jr. and Chase Brown.

Hey, Duke Tobin: Respectfully, sir, are you kidding me? You're pretty much spitting in the face of Hendrickson with empty words — and insulting the intelligence of the fan base by dragging this out as long as you have.

Whether it's your fault, the Blackburns, Mr. Brown, or whomever, there's zero upside in you going on a radio show and beaming about Trey, only to continue sitting on your hands for no discernible reason.

Make it make sense. Is Bengals upper management too prideful to concede that Hendrickson has outplayed his current contract by a mile? It's such a poor-faith move not to extend him.

Good luck to y'all luring any top-flight free agents to Cincinnati in the future. You better hope Joe Burrow is enough of a recruiting pitch, because you're making the Bengals an unappealing destination for prospective free agents in the coming years.

Worst of all, you're financially hamstringing yourselves from shelling out more money to outbid other suitors for those players by not getting out ahead of the market. Look no further than not paying Ja'Marr Chase last offseason during his training camp holdout, only for him to win the wide receiver Triple Crown and proceed to cost you more money.

I'm so tired of this. I'm confident Hendrickson's deal will eventually get done. It's just mind-numbingly stupid that it hasn't happened already.

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