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On Sunday, it was reported that the Cincinnati Bengals were listening to trade offers on star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson with their contract negotiations at an impasse, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on X, formerly Twitter. The development adds even more fuel to the fire of what has been a turbulent offseason for the Bengals, mainly due to the contract saga of Hendrickson.
Recently, Bengals beat writer Jay Morrison of Sports Illustrated called out the organization for their role in deteriorating their relationship with their best defensive player.
“No reason for an impasse. The #Bengals have botched this. If they were going to trade him, they should have done it before the draft. They can't feign surprise at where the negotiations have gone. It was telegraphed all along,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, many had speculated that things may reach this point between Hendrickson and the Bengals.
Hendrickson had made appearances at the team's training camp but hadn't been suiting up and practicing, which certainly didn't ease fans' concerns.
A disastrous outcome for the Bengals
The Bengals' defense was the main thing holding them back last year despite an elite season from quarterback Joe Burrow, and that was with Hendrickson in the lineup and producing at a Pro Bowl level.
The prospect of what the Cincinnati defense would look like without Hendrickson in the lineup may be too unbearable an image for Bengals fans to even try to conjure up.
If the Bengals do follow through and trade Hendrickson, assuming they don't get an equal caliber player in return (which they won't), they are at risk of completely squandering the prime years of the Joe Burrow era, which began with so much promise after 2021-22's Super Bowl appearance.
The Bengals' ownership group has long been known as one of the most notoriously cheap in the NFL, and letting go of Hendrickson may just be the final straw for fans who have grown increasingly frustrated over the last couple of seasons.
In any case, the Bengals will kick off their 2025 season on the road against the Cleveland Browns on September 7.
