The Cincinnati Bengals might have salvaged their season by narrowly defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7.
At 3-4, the Bengals are still alive in the AFC North title race, which is a crazy thing to think about considering how the ball has very much not bounced their way this season.
Before the Bengals won last Thursday, many had wondered if, assuming they kept losing, if Trey Hendrickson would be someone they'd consider trading. We all remember the contract drama the team went through with Hendrickson but, ultimately, a deal got worked out and his contract for this year was restructured and all was well.
A Bengals Trey Hendrickson trade doesn't make sense on multiple levels
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, that contract restructure is a reason why the Bengals could end up not putting Hendrickson on the trade block.
"Something that has been misunderstood about any potential Trey Hendrickson deal -- one that seems very unlikely as the 3-4 Bengals' hope was renewed on Thursday -- is that, to the Bengals, Hendrickson isn't on an expiring deal. Hendrickson got a one-year, $29 million restructured deal this offseason, but Cincinnati reserved the right to franchise tag the pass-rusher in 2026 if it so chooses.
Cincy trading Hendrickson would be trading away the ability to retain him at a below-market deal next year, as well."
As Jones alluded to in this blurb, if the Bengals keep Hendrickson in the stripes past the trade deadline, they could still place the franchise tag on him next offseason. That'd keep him in Cincinnati for at least one more year if another deal didn't get worked out.
Source reveals why Bengals probably won’t trade Trey Hendrickson after all
No one really expected the Bengals to trade Hendrickson even if the team was struggling. This team doesn't tend to make splashy trades even if it makes sense for them to do just that. Now that the Ravens have been decimated by injuries and sit at 1-5 and the Bengals have proven they can beat the Steelers, a division title doesn't seem all that farfetched, even without Joe Burrow.
Keeping Hendrickson makes even more sense now that the team is just one game under .500 and could still win its first AFC North title since the 2022 season. Clearly, the front office doesn't view Hendrickson's contract as a one-and-done type thing and could end up trying to keep him in the Queen City for another year via the franchise tag. They won't have that luxury if they trade him to a Super Bowl contender.
Sorry teams, better luck next year in the Trey Hendrickson sweepstakes.