Cincy Jungle
If the Bengals don’t want to extend Hendrickson, a trade could yield a significant return.
The numbers just don’t add up. Ja’Marr Chase ($30+ million per year), Tee Higgins ($20+ million), and Trey Hendrickson ($22+ million) all need or deserve new contracts. The Cincinnati Bengals have $46,567,407 in 2025 salary cap space.
While a little creative accounting might make it possible to keep all three, there would not be much left over for the rest of the team. That does not make for a winning combination, but there are alternatives.
One would be to trade one of your stars. The Bengals have one of the best offenses in the league, and that’s a formula you probably don’t want to mess with, not if you hope to get back to the playoffs and make another Super Bowl run.
The defense is rebuilding, and there’s a lot of work to do. So, the most logical place to make a change would be on defense. No one wants to see Hendrickson go, but just think of the haul you might get in return, both in draft capital and cap space.
Plus, it sounds like Hendrickson is only interested in an extension or a trade, so the Bengals may not have much choice unless they want to risk an in-season holdout.
At the very least, the Bengals get a second-round pick for Hendrickson, either this year or next year. But let’s assume no deal is made before this year’s draft as the two look to work something out in the coming months.
The Bengals should be shooting for a first-round pick in the 2026 draft. They may need to toss in one of their own Day 3 picks to make it happen, but it’s reasonable to think there’s a team out there willing to spend what they believe will be a late first-round pick for a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
A second and either a third or fourth-round pick might be the most realistic best package Cincinnati could get.
Cincinnati is in desperate need of offensive guards, defensive tackles, and defensive ends. What if you could get one of each in return for Hendrickson?
The Detroit Lions might just have an answer. They have a slew of potential free agents who would make excellent trade bait.
Offensive guard Kevin Zeitler, who was originally selected by Cincinnati in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, will be a free agent this season and can probably be had on a one-year, $8 million contract. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound Wisconsin product, despite being 34 years old, managed an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 86.8, placing him 5th among 135 eligible guards.
Defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike is 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, and only 26 years old. Onwuzurike finished with three sacks this past season and managed an overall grade of 69.4, good for 33rd position out of 219 eligible tackles. The Bengals could probably pick him up for $20...
