One mostly forgotten plotline surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024 was that they had a bit of trouble trying to re-sign star pass rusher Josh Hines Allen. They ultimately got a deal done, and the Cincinnati Bengals are proving that the Jags got it right with the way they're handling contract negotiations with defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Hendrickson and Cincy haven't engaged in contract talks following the draft, pointing out that the last offer he got didn't "reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason." Below is what the four-time Pro Bowl nod had to say about the situation.
"No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft. The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level.
Coaches are aware of these past conversations. Rather than using collaboration to get us to a point to bring me home to the team, THEY are no longer communicating. I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of this situation, but that’s hard to do when there is no discussion and an evident lack of interest in reaching mutual goals"
Power to Hendrickson for calling out the Bengals. Players have a limited window to get as much money as they can, so they must maximize their earning potential. In his case, he's played at an absurdly high level but has yet to be rewarded.
At one point in the offseason, Hendrickson said that he didn't mind getting traded if that was the best course of action. He then resumed negotiations with Cincinnati, but it doesn't look like anything frutful came out of them. And while there's still plenty of time to get a deal done, nobody would bat an eye if the Florida Atlantic product changes teams.
In fact, the lack of negotiations may prompt other teams to reach out to the Bengals and see how much it would take to land Hendrickson. The past four years, he's logged 70.5 sacks. Teams in need of pass-rush help would love to acquire that kind of production.
Unlike the Bengals, the Jaguars didn't drop the ball with Josh Hines-Allen
The Jacksonville Jaguars could have given Josh Hines-Allen an extension in 2023 but chose to let him play out his rookie contract because they didn't think he had done enough. He responded with a personal-best 17.5 sacks and the best season of his career. However, the Jags didn't have a sense of urgency, and instead of giving him a new contract, they placed the franchise tag on him.
Hines-Allen took a subtle jab at the team for failing to get a deal done, but they ultimately struck a massive contract before the deadline to do so. At the time, the decision raised eyebrows because the deal made the Kentucky product the second-highest pass rusher in the NFL despite the fact that he wasn't nearly as consistent as his peer.
Since then, other pass rushers have gotten paid, and Hines-Allen's contract looks much better. The point is that Jacksonville knew it had to pay him a premium after his breakout season and didn't hesitate to do it. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals are fumbling talks with Trey Hendrickson and will either have to give him a monster contract or lose him.
Former Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke didn't get many things right during his stint, but at least he recognized that he couldn't lose Josh Hines-Allen and did his best to keep him around.
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