Pro Football Rumors
Much of the conversation around the 2025 offseason for the Bengals has been centered on the receiver position. Tee Higgins is a pending free agent while Ja’Marr Chase is (still) eligible for a monster extension.
Finding clarity in both of those cases will be critical as the team looks to return to the postseason in 2025. Improving on defense will be key in reaching that goal, and a number of roster moves could be on tap as a result. One defender Cincinnati would be well-served in retaining is Trey Hendrickson, though, and doing so would be dependent on reaching an extension agreement. The team is prepared to authorize a raise to work out a new deal.
“Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension… he has,” Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin said of Hendrickson in an interview with Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’re cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is, is what is to be determined.”
Indeed, the latest round of negotiations could prove to be difficult given the history between team and player in this case. Hendrickson’s efforts to land a new deal (and accompanying raise) were unsuccessful last spring, and his trade request did not result in such a move being contemplated by Cincinnati. The 30-year-old did not engage in a holdout, though, electing to rely on his 2024 production to increase his leverage.
That plan certainly paid off. Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks with 17.5 this campaign, matching his career high in the process and earning first-team All-Pro honors. The four-time Pro Bowler is among the finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award, and winning it could add further to his case for a pay bump. As things stand, 2025 is set to be the final year of his contract.
Hendrickson is currently due $16MM in compensation with a cap hit of $18.67MM. None of his base salary is guaranteed, and landing new locked-in money will of course be a central goal in negotiations. 10 edge rushers are attached to a deal with a larger annual average value than Hendrickson’s, and the top of the market could soon change with Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt likely to receive new contracts. Micah Parsons could move to the top of the pecking order provided he and the Cowboys work out an extension.
The Bengals sit 10th in projected 2025 cap space as things stand, although things will no doubt change on that front as the new league year approaches. Finding the room to accommodate a lucrative new Hendrickson pact will be challenging but – considering his output since arriving as a free agent in 2021 – it would likely prove to be a worthwhile investment.
