This offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals lost a few players to free agency, but none were as big a loss as Trey Hendrickson.
He left the Bengals, signing a massive $112 million contract over four years with the Baltimore Ravens. It was right after the Maxx Crosby trade fell apart, and for the former Bengals pass rusher, it was a solid deal with $60 million guaranteed.
But that final number wasn't remotely close to his initial asking price. According to ESPN's Ryan McFadden, Hendrickson reportedly had a ridiculous asking price of $40 million per-year.
Trey Hendrickson reportedly was asking for $40M APY
"Initially, the Ravens, like the other teams that were talking to Hendrickson, were hesitant to meet his desired contract price of a long-term deal worth $40 million a year," McFadden writes.
Hendrickson was going to get a nice payday this offseason, and it was likely not going to be far from a $30 million per-year deal.
However, asking for $40 million per-year is a ridiculous asking price for Hendrickson, the 32-year-old pass rusher coming off core muscle surgery this past season, where he played just seven games.
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If he were a bit younger and coming off back-to-back 17.5 sack seasons like he was last offseason, then he might've been able to ask for such a ridiculously expensive deal.
But, not only is Hendrickson a bit too old for such a massive deal, he's coming off a core muscle injury, and wasn't playing incredibly well in his limited time on the field last year.
The Bengals were hoping Hendrickson would land a massive deal to get them a third-round compensatory draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and they should still get that with his current deal.
While Hendrickson plays an important position, and has been a good player, $40 million per-year is still far too much to spend on an older edge rusher coming off a serious injury.
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