The Cincinnati Bengals seem to be shifting their stance on star DE Trey Hendrickson with the season set to begin in just a few weeks. They were previously adament about getting a deal done and had no intention of trading him, but Tom Pelissero is reporting a change in their approach.
“With contract talks at an impasse, the Bengals are listening to trade offers for four-time Pro Bowl DE Trey Hendrickson, sources tell me and Ian Rapoport,” Pelissero wrote on X. “No deal is imminent. But the NFL’s reigning sack leader is available for the right price.”
With contract talks at an impasse, the #Bengals are listening to trade offers for four-time Pro Bowl DE Trey Hendrickson, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
No deal is imminent. But the NFL’s reigning sack leader is available for the right price. pic.twitter.com/EFVYNGq8eH
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 17, 2025
The Bengals have been at the center of multiple big contract situations this offseason with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins signing massive deals in the spring. They also had the high-profile holdout with first-round DE Shemar Stewart over injury guarantees. The last item on the checklist is Trey Hendrickson, but it seems less and less likely that they’ll be able to pull it off.
He ended his training camp holdout at the end of July despite no progress in his negotiations. But that was to avoid fines as he remains out of practice.
Cincinnati had one of the worst defenses in the league last year. It was one of the big reasons they missed the playoffs despite having one of the best offenses in the league. Losing Hendrickson won’t help matters, especially if Stewart doesn’t become a force for their defense right away as a rookie.
Hendrickson was reportedly being offered very little guaranteed money by the Bengals, which was viewed as unacceptable given the large contracts given out to AFC North rivals Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt last season. Hendrickson led the entire NFL in sacks with 15 last season, and has been a double-digit sack artist in each of his four seasons with the Bengals.
According to Jordan Schultz on X, the Browns and Colts are among the teams that have shown the most interest. A trade within the division would be highly unusual. It also wouldn’t make much sense for the Browns to commit that much money to their edge rushers when their window to contend is nowhere near open.
The #Panthers, #Browns and #Colts are among the teams that have shown interest in trading for #Bengals All-Pro Trey Hendrickson, per multiple sources.
An in-division and in-state trade is highly unlikely and any deal will be tough regardless. Cincinnati is believed to want an… pic.twitter.com/DHPnCuPNki
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 17, 2025
If this report represents a material change in the Bengals’ approach, things could move quickly with teams having plenty of time to mull their biggest and best offers over the last several months.
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