Hendrickson, who had been seeking a long-term extension, sat out of offseason workouts and much of training camp before Cincinnati restructured his contract to give him a well-earned pay raise, worth up to $30 million after leading the league with 17.5 sacks in 2024.
During the 2024 offseason, the Bengals told Hendrickson they would discuss an extension the following year, amid his requests for a trade. He had signed a one-year extension just the previous summer. The parties couldn’t come to an agreement last year, though, and now his time in Cincinnati appears to be coming to an end in one fashion or another.
Tobin leaves the door open for a return, however.
“I don’t throw anything on or off the table with Trey, and we’re excited about attacking this offseason,” Tobin said, answering the first question of his press conference at the NFL Combine on Tuesday. “We have resources to attack the offseason in a big way, and we want to do that. In terms of how we’re going to do that, how we’re going to allocate our resources, you know, who is it going to be on, our own free agents, what’s our intentions there, I’m not going to get into that right here. It’s just not the time to announce that to the rest of the league, so that’s the best way I can answer that.”
Hendrickson is projected to receive a massive new contract in free agency, with estimates ranging from $50 million over two years (according to Spotrac.com) to a $99 million deal (according to The Athletic). Despite his shortened season, he still ranked third in the league in sacks with 74.5 since 2020.
The Bengals do have the option of using a franchise tag to keep Hendrickson for another year or at least retain him as an asset to trade.
“I’m not going to talk about how we’re going to deploy our resources and what our intention is with the tag,” Tobin said. “I’m not going to close any doors on any player that we’ve had or any of our free agents up here today. I’m just not going to do that. Trey’s been a great player for us. He didn’t have the year he wanted this year. We didn’t have the year we wanted this year. Those are factors and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Using the tag-and-trade is not as easy as it sounds, even if there is a demand for Hendrickson. The Bengals explored trades last year and did not find a suitable solution.
The player already has been disgruntled about his contract situation, and the idea of tagging him likely would not sit well with him, though it’s worth at least $30.2 million.
Tobin said, in general, tagging a player with the intent of trading him is complicated.
“All trades are difficult,” Tobin said. “You have to find a partner. you have to have cooperation with your players. Trades can be complicated. That hypothetical scenario would be very complicated.”
Regardless, it would appear the Bengals are in need of an edge rusher or two this offseason. Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample also are pending free agents, and although Myles Murphy made progress last season, there’s still uncertainty in that room.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Shemar Stewart, the team’s first-round draft pick last year, was limited by two injuries in his rookie season, but the hope is he can be a productive starter in 2026.
“I’m excited about Shemar,” Tobin said. “All of us are excited about Shemar. The first year didn’t go the way he wanted. He didn’t have a ton of practice. He played healthy in the first game and then he wasn’t healthy the rest of the year. And that’s tough on a young guy because when you’re not healthy, you’re also not practicing. And so he didn’t get those reps. To his credit, he had never been injured in his football career ever. And he had two pretty significant injuries this year, battled back to be able to get on the field for us. And that was good to see.”
Tobin said the Bengals will use every resource to address team needs this offseason, through free agency, trades if necessary, re-signing some of their own guys and the draft.
Most of those needs will likely be on the defensive side again, but another priority will be solidifying the offensive line, where right guard Dalton Risner is a pending free agent but hoping to stay. Both Tobin and Bengals coach Zac Taylor said they were impressed by how Risner performed, especially arriving so late in August and proving to be a good fit, and the parties are in talks for a return.
“Did a nice job, fit in well, got a ton of respect for him, really enjoyed getting to know him,” Tobin said. “He’s really, you know, a fantastic person just to be around in the locker room on a day-to-day basis. And he’s a guy that we’ve talked to, and we’ll see if we can get something done. He’s got decisions to make, and we’ve got decisions to make, and he’s a guy that we like a lot.”
About the Author