At this point, Bengals fans will take literally any good Trey Hendrickson news they can get. Arbitrary deadlines have come and gone without any sort of resolution, and the notion of Hendrickson sitting out camp – or, worse, actual games – is starting to feel more likely by the week.
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And while everyone waits for someone to do something, a new report – maybe we should call it speculation – from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer adds an interesting twist to an already-very-dramatic offseason saga: Joe Burrow. While answering a fan's question about the status of things in Cincinnati, Breer dropped an interesting point about how Burrow could affect the contract negotiations.
Joe Burrow could be the one that gets a Trey Hendrickson deal over the finish line
"I think Joe Burrow has real power there, my guess is they’ll get something done. I just don’t know how they’ll get there. This is the third consecutive offseason it’s been an issue for Cincinnati. Hendrickson’s initial deal was a COVID-19-affected discount deal. He got a Band-Aid extension in the summer of 2023. He got nowhere last summer, and generally when a guy has to wait that long, he won’t be looking to cut his team a break. Meanwhile, the market has materially changed. Hendrickson may not be the sort of war daddy pass rusher such as Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa, who both demanded market-changing deals. But Hendrickson did have 35 sacks the past two years, so he’s more than within reason to expect to get where Danielle Hunter and Maxx Crosby did this offseason, somewhere around $35 million per year. The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t gone there yet. We’ll see if they do."
That's a kinda big piece of speculation to just drop in there and then never acknolwedge again? What do you mean by that? What kind of power are you talking about, Albert? (Can I call you Albert?) Franchise QBs typically have a an outsized voice in team decision-making, but Breer (I assumed I couldn't call him Albert) sure does make it seem like Burrow can get things done, which is no small 'report.' That feels notable? At least more notable than one tossaway sentence in a fan mail answer.
If Burrow does have the power to get another Bengals deal done this season, maybe it's time to revisit his contract? Running the team on and off the field deserves at least a little raise.