Some NFL front offices like to play the personnel equivalent of 4D chess, whereas the Cincinnati Bengals' brain trust loves them some Scrabble Junior.
Trey Hendrickson is on an expiring contract and turns 31 in a month's time. Not that he has the typical wear and tear of a defensive end his age, since he didn't start until later in his career.
But that isn't the point I'm making. The point I'm making is, the Bengals have committed a comedy of errors in handling their relationship with Hendrickson ever since he signed on before the run to Super Bowl LVI. He's the best free-agent acquisition in franchise history, yet Cincinnati's chief decision-makers are averse to paying him what he's worth.
There is no cohesive vision for the future of this Bengals organization. Hendrickson's ongoing drama, inability to secure a multi-year contract, and the team's refusal to trade him, only underscores that notion.
Bengals used Quinnen Williams' massive Cowboys trade package as an excuse to not pull off Trey Hendrickson trade
I would qualify this with "reportedly" but we all know it's true. An insider like Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz isn't going to, you know, make stuff up out of thin air when it's something this important.
Schultz insisted that the Bengals were open to offers for Hendrickson. They even decreased their initial asking price of a first-round pick.
That is, until the New York Jets traded Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for defensive tackle Mazi Smith, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 first-rounder.
The #Bengals definitely listened on DE Trey Hendrickson following back-to-back losses and gave the impression they’d consider a deal that didn’t require a first-round pick — but ultimately, they decided not to move him. pic.twitter.com/23ZnBSBwUQ
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 5, 2025
Oh you read that right. I was already mad enough that Jerry Jones' Cowboys took away Logan Wilson, and later in the day, outbid the Bengals (they probably weren't bidding in actuality) on an elite defensive tackle in Williams.
Anyway, here are the key bits from Schultz's monologue:
"It was my understanding that they had lowered their asking price, But ultimately then. Quinnen Williams gets a massive haul from the Cowboys to the Jets. And as a result of that, I think Cincinnati then said, 'OK if we're gonna trade Hendrickson, it needs to be in the vicinity of Quinnen Williams.' [...] I also still think there is hope internally that the Bengals can make a playoff push, especially if Joe Flacco continues to play well and if Joe Burrow continues to be on track for his rehab mid-December."
We're hot off Halloween, so it's apropos to invoke the horror classic The Exorcist's iconic scene of Linda Blair's possessed Regan MacNeil spinning her head a full 360 degrees.
That's how it feels to hear what Schultz said about the Bengals. How much self-delusion can fit into one football headquarters?
So the Bengals wanted the same price for an Edge rusher that's about to be 31 with an expiring contract, that the Jets got for a DT that's about to 28 and has three seasons left on his deal. https://t.co/KD3KAiMnvU
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) November 5, 2025
There should be sociological studies and/or paranormal investigators deployed to report on whatever the heck is going on in Cincinnati. What's in the water!? Is there a demonic force cursing the defense? Is the perpetually understaffed, seedy scouting department so haunted that the Bengals can't draft good players anymore?
What sort of brainwashing does it take to believe this 3-6 team, with this historically pathetic defense, can go at least 7-1 the rest of the season to get to 10 wins?
Maybe Schultz is speculating about that belief in the postseason, but why else wouldn't the Bengals trade Hendrickson? The writing is on the wall. The bridge is basically burned. Cincinnati is bound to franchise tag him to spark a whole other soap opera this offseason.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who understands the math ain't mathin' any other way.
The Bengals would rather take a 3rd round comp pick for Trey Hendrickson after committing $30M dollars in cash for another 9-8 season instead of trading him while teams are desperate for help and throwing around insane compensation.
— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) November 4, 2025
The Eagles backfilling players like Milton Williams (Moro Ojomo) and Josh Sweat (Jalyx Hunt/Nolan Smith) is one recent example of this.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) November 4, 2025
Drafting BPA allowed them to rack up a 3rd and 4th in the 2026 draft and the DL is still talented.
The #Bengals didn't value Trey Hendrickson enough to offer him guaranteed cash in 2026, but he's reportedly valuable enough for them to take your favorite team's 2026 1st Round pick (for 9 weeks).
— Spotrac (@spotrac) November 3, 2025
The answer to Cincinnati's confounding, contradictory math/football philosophy equation is simple. This Bengals' front office doesn't have the slightest clue as to what they're doing.