Despite granting star defensive end Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade earlier this offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals still hope to come to an agreement on an extension with the NFL's reigning sack leader.
They want to get a deal done because Hendrickson is great at what he does and is one of the absolute best edge rushers in the league. But, they might have some additional, external, motivation when it comes to getting a deal done.
After hearing all of the outside noise that they're "cheap" or that they " don't pay their own players," the Bengals might be looking to silence such doubters, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
"I know the Bengals are working on it. And I know they would like to keep him in the building., Rapoport said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, via Sports Illustrated. "They would like to pay him. And I think they would like people to stop saying, 'why don't the Bengals pay their guys?' Because they do. And I think getting Hendrickson done at a money and a value that makes sense for both sides will be a great way for the Bengals to be like: 'see.'"
The Bengals don't want to be known as a 'cheap' organization
The desire to silence doubters is a great motivator, and one that has been used by all the greats from Michael Jordan to Tom Brady. If the Bengals want to lean into it, and that's what it takes for a deal to get done with Hendrickson, more power to them.
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For what it's worth, Cincinnati's reputation for being miserly, or unwilling to pay their own players isn't entirely unearned. But, reputations can be changed, and Cincinnati took a step in the right direction by locking up both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on massive four-year extensions.
Many assumed that they'd be unable, or unwilling, to get a deal done with Higgins, but they did. The same thing could happen with Hendrickson. Locking up all three star players this offseason, which many viewed as an impossible task, would certainly go a long way toward erasing their "cheap" reputation.
In order to get a deal done, though, the Bengals are going to have to be willing to spend substantially, as Rapoport expects Hendrickson to command a contract near the high end of his position.
"Hendrickson is awesome. He deserves a lot of money," Rapoport said. "I think his next contract is going to be above 30 [million per year]. Is it going to beat Max Crosby [$35 million per year]? I don't know, but it's going to be above 30."
That's certainly a big number. Let's see what happens.