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Ben Baby
CINCINNATI — Trey Hendrickson will need a new contract if he’s going to step on the field for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2025.
The All-Pro defensive end met with reporters Tuesday during the team’s offseason workout and spoke at length about his current contract dispute with the team. Hendrickson is entering the final year of his current contract but is seeking a long-term deal.
Wearing a golf cap and a blue polo T-shirt, Hendrickson met with reporters for more than 20 minutes to address the situation while the team wrapped up its voluntary workout.
The relationship between Cincinnati’s star edge rusher and the front office reached a boiling point Monday. According to Hendrickson, Bengals coach Zac Taylor sent him a text message Monday that missing the team’s mandatory minicamp, which is exactly four weeks away, will result in a fine.
That prompted Hendrickson to voice his side of the situation.
“We’ve tried to keep it as least amount as personal as possible, but at some point in this process it’s becomes personal,” Hendrickson said. “Being sent 30 days before mandatory camp, or how many ever days it is, that if I don’t show up I will be fined alludes to the fact that something won’t get done in that time frame.”
Hendrickson, 30, said the message from Taylor prompted his statement to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday, in which Hendrickson refuted a report that the Bengals had been in communication with him since the NFL draft in April.
The four-time Pro Bowler said the business negotiations started to take a personal turn over the past week.
“And when there’s a lack of communication in any relationship, if it’s business or personal relationship, lack of communication leads to animosity, and that leaves my narrative only to me with no clear direction,” Hendrickson said.
Since joining Cincinnati in 2021 as a free agent, Hendrickson has become one of the best players in the league. Last season, he led the NFL with 17.5 sacks and, along with Ja’Marr Chase, helped Cincinnati break a nine-year drought of not having an All-Pro selection.
In March, the Bengals granted Hendrickson the ability to seek a trade. On Tuesday, he said he wanted to clear up the misconception that there was a predetermined return that Hendrickson believed he could fetch in a trade.
“There’s no way of knowing that,” Hendrickson said. “We were told what they were looking for and if it was five first-round picks, I would have agreed.”
Hendrickson said the team is pushing for a short-term contract while he has maintained his stance of wanting long-term security in Cincinnati.
There has also been several questions about why Hendrickson has continually sought action on his deal. In 2023, Hendrickson signed a one-year extension on the four-year, $60 million deal he originally signed with the team. Last offseason, he requested a long-term deal and then a trade before he ultimately participated in offseason workouts.
Hendrickson casted doubt on his ability to explore in free agency if the original deal he signed in 2021 had expired and he didn’t sign the extension.
“I think if I did not take that deal, we’re talking franchise tagging the 30-year-old, right?” Hendrickson said. “That’s the magic number.”
As things stand, Hendrickson is set to make $15.8 million in base salary this season. Hendrickson noted how much the market has changed over the last 12 months, especially in light of Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett resetting the market this offseason with a contract extension that averages $40 million annually.
What happened this week has escalated the tension between Hendrickson and the front office that has simmered through the offseason. In recent months, the native Floridian has taken exception to comments made by the front office at league events regarding his status with the team.
“There are unprovoked shark attacks and there’s provoked shark attacks,” Hendrickson said.
With his comments Tuesday, Cincinnati’s star defender is no longer looking to tread water while trying to find a long-term deal.
Hendrickson did offer the franchise praise and said Taylor, the team’s sixth-year coach, has been honest with him through the process. And as for the relationship between himself and the decision-makers in Cincinnati, Hendrickson believes it can be salvaged. He pointed to Garrett, who requested a trade before later signing his extension with the Browns.
“That relationship will repair with time,” Hendrickson said. “And same with this. This is just the uncomfortable business side that we’ve unfortunately had to deal with for the last couple years.
“And quite frankly, I think we’re all spent.”
