CINCINNATI (WXIX) - All offseason, Trey Hendrickson was open about what he was looking for. He wanted a new contract that reflected the rising market for defensive ends around the NFL, and he wanted multi-year guarantees.
The Bengals, clearly, weren’t going to give Hendrickson the type of contract that Myles Garrett, TJ Watt or Maxx Crosby received.
Since any potential new deal for Hendrickson wasn’t going to have those guarantees into the future anyway, any extension that Hendrickson could have realistically signed with the Bengals would have acted as a one-year deal since the Bengals would have been able to ask him to renegotiate in a year.
To end the drama, the Bengals reportedly gave Hendrickson a $14 million raise for this season. The All-Pro defensive end will be able to test the free agent market in 2026.
The Bengals haven’t shown a willingness to secure Hendrickson’s future with the team anyway, so the two sides just stripped away the formalities without pretending that there was going to be anything more than one year left in this partnership.
From the Bengals perspective, there are wins and losses here.
An objective study of Hendrickson’s 2024 season showed some flaws. He’s a poor run defender, he didn’t make a consistent enough impact in the biggest moments and he has become streakier as he has gotten older.
For the Bengals, signing Hendrickson to a lucrative long-term deal would have been a huge risk. The contract that the two sides agreed to today is much safer for the Bengals. Having Hendrickson ready to play without costing yourself flexibility into the future is a win for the Bengals.
Back in March, Hendrickson had permission to seek a trade. The trade market provided some honest and objective feedback, and Hendrickson was never going to fetch an incredible return. That also was another signal that Hendrickson isn’t in the tippity-top tier of players at his position.
The loss here from the Bengals’ perspective is that Hendrickson was already under contract for 2025. The Bengals are paying $14 million for Hendrickson to be happier, to not provide a distraction and to have a full two-week ramp-up to get ready to play Week 1. They avoid the distraction that Ja’Marr Chase’s contract saga was last September.
What’s that worth?
The Bengals did the right thing by not just telling Hendrickson to be happy on his current deal. They took care of their guy. But analytically, they didn’t gain much today. They paid him to be sure he showed up for Week 1.
The most foresightful move that they could have made still would have been trading Hendrickson back in March for a Day 2 pick and using the cap space they’re spending on Hendrickson to fortify positions like guard, defensive tackle and safety.
Instead, they kept Hendrickson. Having him on just a one-year deal is an all-in move for a defense that’s just beginning a major reset.
While Hendrickson gets a raise, he’s taking a risk and betting on himself matching his production from 2024. The Bengals desperately need him to do that for a defense that doesn’t have many proven starters.
Hendrickson didn’t get what he wanted this summer — major long-term guarantees on a top of the market contract. Even if Hendrickson has another massive season, he still probably won’t get Myles Garrett money from another team next spring. But he’ll more likely get the guarantees that he wasn’t able to sync up with as he negotiated with the Bengals.
If Hendrickson has a down year, then this move backfires for him.
If the Bengals have a down year, then not taking a long-term view in the Hendrickson decision will backfire for them as well.
But if the Bengals win playoff games because Hendrickson is ripping around the edge and sacking Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, then both sides will come out of this one-year agreement pretty happy.
_The views and opinions expressed by this columnist do not necessarily reflect the views, policies or positions of WXIX FOX19._
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