As the Trey Hendrickson contract drama continues, the pass-rusher revealed he would have been open to taking less money to make something work with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I was more than willing to take less in some ways in order to make this work,” he told Dianna Russini of The Athletic on Tuesday.
He also said he received two offers that did not feature the guarantees past the first year he wanted and decided to head to Florida with training camp starting so he was less of a distraction for his teammates.
The comments come after Hendrickson posted on social media to let people know he was in Florida:
The star pass-rusher told reporters in May he wouldn’t play for the Bengals during the upcoming campaign without a new contract. He is entering the final year of his current deal and is set to make $15.8 million in base salary.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the primary “issue” in the stalled negotiations has been that Cincinnati offered just one year of guaranteed money when other star defensive ends around the league such as Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt received three.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported the discussions between the team and player have been “very contentious,” although owner Mike Brown told reporters Monday “I think it’ll get done” when discussing a potential contract with Hendrickson.
Cincinnati missed the playoffs last year even with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase putting up head-turning numbers in large part because its defense struggled. It responded by selecting Texas A&M pass-rusher Shemar Stewart in the first round to ideally form a dynamic duo with Hendrickson.
Instead, both players are holding out.
Stewart is the only first-rounder from the 2025 draft to have not signed at this point, and the Bengals defense will be a significant concern if it does not have either pass-rusher available at the start of the year.
Hendrickson was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing year for the unit, as he finished the 2024 season with a league-best 17.5 sacks. It was his second straight year with 17.5 sacks, and he made his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.
It was the type of performance that would seemingly set him up for a major new deal, and he surely noticed when Watt, Garrett and Crosby all received massive contract extensions this offseason.
He is still waiting for his, and both sides seem relatively dug in as the stalemate continues.
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