Trey Hendrickson: I was more than willing to take less to make this work

Speaking to the media on Monday, Bengals owner Mike Brown seemed optimistic that his team and star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson would be able to work out a deal.

But that rosy outlook does not appear to match how contentious the state of negotiations between the team and player.

Hendrickson recently posted on social media that he was in Florida, not in Southern Ohio, as the Bengals get ready to begin training camp this week. Reports on Tuesday morning then indicated that Hendrickson was unhappy that Cincinnati’s latest contract offers have included just one year of guaranteed money.

Via Russini, Hendrickson had been training at his Cincinnati home for the last 30 days. But he and his wife elected to head to Jacksonville, Fla., after receiving two offers, neither of which had guarantees past the first year. That’s what he’s looking for.

Hendrickson will continue to train in Jacksonville in the hopes that a deal can be worked out.

“I was more than willing to take less in some ways in order to make this work,” Hendrickson told Russini.

Hendrickson, 30, is set to make a base salary of $15.8 million with a salary cap hit of $18.6 million in 2025. That’s well below the standards of the top edge rushers. Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt are now making an average annual value of over $40 million per year. But even Maxx Crosby’s new deal averages $35.5 million per year.

Hendrickson has recorded 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons for Cincinnati — a mark that led the league in 2024. He also recorded 19 tackles for loss and 36 QB hits last season, becoming an All-Pro for the first time.