The Cincinnati Bengals still have a horrible defense despite their improvement down the stretch against inferior competition. That doesn't mean they should retain All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
After low-balling him all offseason this past year, Hendrickson reluctantly agreed to a raise before appearing in only seven games. His best work as a pass rusher couldn't offset what was a historically awful defensive unit through Week 11.
Early projections are in as to what Hendrickson could fetch on the open market, along with a ballpark estimate of what it'd take to franchise tag him. Neither path is viable, which should kaput the annual soap opera between Hendrickson and the front office.
Bengals using franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson makes no sense, nor does multi-year contract extension
Back in late August, ESPN's Adam Schefter provided a snapshot of what the franchise tag would look like for Hendrickson:
A franchise tag for Trey Hendrickson in 2026 would cost the Bengals about $34.8 million. https://t.co/orGoaP7fyR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 27, 2025
Quite a hefty price tag. However, even though Spotrac has Hendrickson as the top edge defender on the open market, his average annual value is only about $25.4 million. That's just above the $25.1 million cap number he played under in 2025.
Joseph Ossai showed flashes of dominance toward the end of this season, and has an estimated AAV of $15.1 million from Spotrac. Another EDGE I like a lot is Arnold Ebiketie of the Falcons. He's unlikely to re-sign in Atlanta given its new regime and first-round picks used on James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker at Ebiketie's position.
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I advocated for an Ebiketie trade around the deadline, which didn't come to pass. The point is, the Bengals could re-sign Ossai and acquire Ebiketie (projected $9 million AAV) at about the same price as Hendrickson by himself. Plus, Cincinnati still has first-round defensive ends in the ascending Myles Murphy and the can't-help-but-ascend Shemar Stewart.
You could really sell me on a defensive end group of Murphy, Ossai, Ebiketie, Stewart, Cedric Johnson and Isaiah Foskey heading into next season. That's serious quality depth right there.
Although Hendrickson's price tag is within reach for Cincinnati to fulfill, the front office won't go out of their way to overpay for his services. Some other team who's more gung-ho for a Super Bowl, or more desperate with superior cash flow, will make that play.
Sounds like both sides are ready to move on, too, based on this nugget from WLWT5 sports director Charlie Clifford's latest report:
"Beginning with free agent All-Pro pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, it appears there will be no turning back this time, as both sides are currently viewed as being ready to move on. How this plays out remains to be seen, with the Bengals due one compensatory draft pick when Hendrickson inks a deal with a new team. The only alternative would be a tag and trade. That would be a circus, but unlike this past trade deadline, perhaps a desperate team arrives at the negotiating table. Unlikely, but not impossible."
If Ossai doesn't return and the Bengals don't get an Ebiketie type in free agency, the 10th overall pick is a prime spot to take another defensive end like Texas Tech's David Bailey, Miami's Rueben Bain Jr., or Auburn product Keldric Faulk.
I would prefer the aforementioned group of six. Never thought I'd be saying that given my criticism of Ossai in particular in the past. Point is, there are multiple avenues to compensate for Hendrickson's departure. Paying him big money at this point makes legitimately zero sense, much as I love him as the team's best free-agent signing ever.