Trey Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks in 2024, and now he's seeking a long-term extension with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason. He has one year remaining on his current contract.
Hendrickson has made it abundantly clear that he would like to remain in Cincinnati, but he also stressed that he ultimately wants what's best for the Bengals as an organization, even if that means they trade him for a valuable return.
“The goal is to win a Super Bowl for Cincinnati. What that looks like this season, if it’s something we can agree on in terms, that would be great," Hendrickson said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show earlier this month. "Ideally, my wife and I would love to stay in Cincinnati. If it’s something that helps the Bengals win a Super Bowl if they get picks or anything like that. I want to help win a Super Bowl for Cincinnati if I’m there or not.”
Duke Tobin said Bengals would prefer not to trade Trey Hendrickson, want to extend him
But, would the Bengals actually trade Hendrickson, the guy who was far-and-away their best defensive player last season? While speaking with media members at the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin weighed in on the possibility, and made it clear that the organization would much prefer to keep Hendrickson in Cincinnati as opposed to trading him.
"I never really talked about open preferences for trading guys, because all that does is take on a life of its own," Tobin said. "And that's not something I want to do, because I want Trey on our football team. He's under contract. We're looking to to pay him for what we believe will be really good future years and we see him as not falling off in his career. And, you know, so that's why we're actively trying [to pay him]."
Obviously the Bengals would like to keep Hendrickson around. The dude is really good at football. But wanting to keep him and being willing to pay him what he's looking for are two different things.
There's a premium on elite edge rushers in the league right now, and Hendrickson is one of the best. If the Bengals aren't willing to meet his asking price, there would almost assuredly be other teams that would.
The good news for the Bengals is that the massive increase in the salary cap for the 2025 season should help them when it comes to locking up key contributors like Hendrickson, Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase.
Remember, Hendrickson requested a trade out of Cincinnati last offseason due to a lack of long-term security. When his request wasn't granted, he simply put his head down, went to work and turned in a monster season. This time around, though, it will be a different story. Hendrickson deserves a new deal, and if he doesn't get one, he probably won't be so understanding.