It is weird to think about. How does a guy who led the league in sacks and basically kept a whole defense from falling into the Ohio River end up in a situation where he might never wear a Bengals helmet again? Honestly, if you look at the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson right now, it feels like a breakup that’s been brewing for years, even if neither side wants to say it out loud.
He’s 31. He’s coming off a core muscle surgery that cut his 2025 season short after only seven games. And yet, if he hits the open market in March 2026, he’s going to get paid like a king.
The Bengals are at a crossroads. They just wrapped up a frustrating 6-11 season. They’ve got a top-10 pick for the first time since they took Ja'Marr Chase. But the elephant in the room is #91. Hendrickson has been the soul of their pass rush since 2021, and without him, that defensive line looks... well, it looks like a turnstile.
The Trey Hendrickson Contract Drama is a Mess
Let’s be real for a second. Hendrickson has been underpaid for a long time. When he signed that four-year, $60 million deal back in 2021, people thought the Bengals overpaid for a "one-year wonder" from New Orleans. Instead, he turned into the best free-agent signing in franchise history.
Last offseason, things got ugly. Hendrickson requested a trade. He wanted long-term security. The Bengals, being the Bengals, don't usually cave to trade requests from star players. They eventually gave him a $13 million raise to $30 million for the 2025 season just to get him into training camp, but they didn't add any extra years.
It was a band-aid. A very expensive, one-year band-aid.
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Now, as we sit in January 2026, that band-aid is falling off. Hendrickson is set to become a free agent. The Bengals have the option to use the franchise tag, but that would cost them roughly $30.2 million. Because of how they structured his "raise" with void years, his actual cap hit on the tag would be a massive $36.7 million.
Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor have been non-committal. Taylor says there’s "always a path," but that sounds like coach-speak for "we’ll see if someone else offers him more."
Why he’s basically unreplaceable
You can't just find 17.5 sacks in the draft. Well, you can, but it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Hendrickson did that in back-to-back years (2023 and 2024). He became the first Bengal since Coy Bacon in 1976 to dominate like that.
The numbers are actually kind of staggering:
- 57 sacks in his first four years with Cincinnati.
- Led the NFL in sacks in 2024.
- Accounted for a league-high 32% of his team's total pressures that year.
When he’s on the field, he’s a nightmare. He doesn't have the longest arms or the flashiest "spin move" in the world. He just has a motor that doesn't stop and hands that move faster than a dealer at a blackjack table.
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I remember watching him against the Raiders in 2024. He had four sacks in a single game. It didn't matter who they put in front of him; he was just... gone. Rounding the corner, dipping the shoulder, and putting the QB on the turf.
But here’s the problem. In 2025, he only played seven games. He had four sacks in those games—which is still a great pace—but that core muscle injury is scary for a guy on the wrong side of 30. If you’re the Bengals, do you commit $30 million a year to a veteran who just had major surgery?
The "Garbage Time" Myth
You’ll hear some people on Reddit or Twitter (or X, whatever) saying Hendrickson "pads his stats" against bad teams. They’ll point out that in 2024, a lot of his sacks came against the Browns, Raiders, and Giants.
They aren't entirely wrong. He did struggle more against the "elite" offenses. Against teams like the Ravens and Chiefs, the production dipped slightly.
But honestly? Who cares?
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If you don't have a guy who can beat the "bad" teams, you don't win enough games to even matter. And Hendrickson was often the only person getting pressure. When Sam Hubbard retired, the burden on Hendrickson became even heavier. Teams could just double-team him every single snap because they weren't worried about anyone else.
What happens next?
If the Bengals let him walk, the defense is going to look completely different in 2026. There’s already talk about them drafting someone like Peter Woods out of Clemson or Shemar Stewart to try and rebuild the line.
But rookies take time. Joe Burrow is in his prime. Can the Bengals afford to wait for a rookie to develop while their superstar QB is ready to win now?
The most likely landing spots if he leaves?
- The Carolina Panthers: They have a ton of cap space and desperate need for a veteran leader on the edge.
- The Detroit Lions: Imagine Hendrickson opposite Aidan Hutchinson. That’s a Super Bowl-caliber duo.
- The Washington Commanders: They were linked to him during the trade request saga and still need that elite pass rusher to take the next step.
It’s going to come down to the money. Hendrickson knows this is likely his last chance at a massive, multi-year contract. He wants to be paid like Maxx Crosby or Nick Bosa. The Bengals have to decide if they’d rather pay him or use that money to keep the Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins duo together for the long haul.
Actionable Next Steps for Bengals Fans
If you're following the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson saga this offseason, keep your eyes on these three things:
- Watch the Franchise Tag Deadline: If the Bengals don't tag him by early March, he’s gone. Period. The $36.7 million cap hit is a huge hurdle, so if they don't do it, they've likely made peace with him leaving.
- Monitor the Core Muscle Recovery: Reports from his visit with Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia will be crucial. If his recovery is ahead of schedule, his market value will skyrocket.
- Check the Draft Board: If the Bengals start meeting heavily with top-tier edge rushers at the Combine, it’s a massive signal that they are moving on from the Hendrickson era.
The reality is that Trey Hendrickson gave the Bengals everything he had, including a record-breaking 2024 season. Whether he's back in stripes or chasing down Burrow in another jersey next year, he's already cemented himself as a legend in the Queen City.