Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson wants a contract or a trade.
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Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson wants a contract or a trade.
There is more news in the ongoing saga between the Cincinnati Bengals and defensive end Trey Hendrickson. In case you haven’t noticed – and judging by the attendance you haven’t – the Bengals and Hendrickson are embroiled in a bitter contract dispute.
News broke yesterday that the Bengals are fielding offers for the NFL sack leader and that should surprise no one. They gave Hendrickson permission to seek a trade months ago and surely that door never closed. If the Bengals could find a way out of this situation – by signing him to a new deal or getting something in return in trade – they would have by now.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said on Monday that the Bengals have gotten inquiries on Hendrickson and they even had a decent offer on the table at one point.
“Back before the draft, the Bengals had an offer on the table that was a second-round pick and change,” Pelissero said on Monday. “At that time, they weren’t willing to engage with that. They wanted a first-rounder.”
Raise your hand if you’re shocked.
Bengals aren’t close to making a deal for Trey Hendrickson
As I’ve stated before, there are many problems with moving a guy like Hendrickson. First of all, you need to find a team that needs him and needs pass-rush help to make a run now. He’s 30-years old, this isn’t a Micah Parsons‘ situation. Yep, and you can add cap space and all that fun to the equation. Point being, the potential market is limited.
So, a team has to give up what the Bengals think is fair (I can only imagine!) and then pay Hendrickson market value, which will probably be roughly $36 million per. So, are the Bengals still holding out hope that they get a first rounder?
“It is a complicated situation,” Pelissero said. “We’ll see if it advances, but I can tell you there are several teams over the past several days that have checked in with the Bengals. There have been talks. It’s not anywhere close to a deal actually getting done.”
It sounds like they are still holding out hope for that one. And, with training camp injuries and pressure on general managers and head coaches, maybe they’ll get it.
“Nothing’s really changed” with Hendrickson’s contract situation
There was some optimism – apparently not internally – when Hendrickson ended his holdout and returned to the team at the beginning of training camp. But, Hendrickson said at the time that there really wasn’t any movement.
“Nothing’s really changed. Things are exactly the same,” Hendrickson said last month. “Not only have I mentioned it multiple times this offseason, but also ownership has as well—our plans are not having to play on the current deal. That’s something we have a common goal to get to. That’s the plan moving forward. No distractions. I am excited to be here. I think it’s great seeing the brotherhood that’s in here.”
It remains to be seen whether Hendrickson will miss games. My guess is he won’t. Not getting a big contract is one thing, but actually having money taken from you is entirely different.
Now, if the Bengals are able to trade Hendrickson – let’s just say they get a second-round pick – what will the likes of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase think of that? Guess what a second-round pick does for their careers and their hopes of winning this season? Exactly. Burrow might end up pulling a Carson Palmer sooner rather than later.