The biggest story of the offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals has been the ongoing contract saga of star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson held out of both training camp and the preseason in hopes of a new contract extension, one that the Bengals' notoriously cheap ownership group has been unwilling to provide at this point.
However, on Monday, a new report shed some optimistic light on a development in the talks between the two sides.
“Sources: The #Bengals have re-started talks with All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson on a new deal for 2025,” reported Jordan Schultz on X, formerly Twitter. “My understanding is the two sides have been exploring a more ‘unqiue' avenue to get something done. Giving Hendrickson more money this season while still letting his contract expire after the year — has been discussed.”
“More work to do, but there’s cautious optimism,” a source said, per Schultz.
Bengals fans will likely take whatever good news they can get on the Hendrickson front, even if his contract would still expire at the end of this year under the new deal.
The Bengals defense was awful a season ago but the only thing that kept it from being the worst unit in the NFL was Hendrickson's pass rushing abilities, which are among the best in the league.
Hendrickson has watched as several of his teammates have walked out of the door over the last few years, including players like Jessie Bates who were key to the team's surprise run to the Super Bowl back in 2021-22.
It has certainly appeared for the better part of this offseason that Hendrickson was on track to follow a similar trajectory, but if these reports turn out to be true, the Bengals could have their third-best player back in uniform for at least the 2025 season, if not beyond.
In any case, the Bengals are slated to kick off their 2025 season on the road against the Cleveland Browns on September 7 at 1:00 PM ET.
