Bengals have zero interest in trading Trey Hendrickson; examining his current contract

The Bengals hoped that a one-year contract extension in 2023 would prevent this scenario. Alas, Trey Hendrickson has made a trade request.

Trey Hendrickson has requested a trade.

The Cincinnati Bengals are almost certainly not honoring that request.

Anyone who’s followed the Bengals knows that this franchise simply does not trade away its great players, especially when they’re still in the prime of their careers.

We’ve seen guys like Carlos Dunlap and Chad Johnson traded toward the end of their careers for late-round picks, but even those are few and far between.

So you’ll be shocked to hear that…the Bengals have zero interest in trading Trey Hendrickson, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Look no further than Tee Higgins, who could have been traded last year entering the final year of his deal while the Bengals knew they weren’t signing him to a long-term extension. Even after Higgins requested a trade this offseason, the Bengals rebuffed trade interest in him, and he now believes that playing in Cincinnati this year is the likely outcome.

It’s unfortunate this is happening, but the Bengals did give Hendrickson a one-year extension in 2023 that included $21 million in new money comprised of a $5 million pay bump that year and $16 million in 2025. It also included an $8 million signing bonus, according to Over The Cap. Otherwise, 2024 would be the final year of his deal.

Hendrickson is set to make $14,800,000 in base salary this year and $15,800,000 in 2025. By the time his deal runs out, Hendrickson will be 31 years old, so it makes sense that he wants to get one more big payday before hitting his 30s.

That one-year extension is where Hendrickson really killed any hope of getting traded after originally signing a four-year deal in 2021 following the conclusion of his rookie contract with the New Orleans Saints. That was a four-year deal worth $60 million.

So, in the Bengals’ eyes, they’ve essentially given him a five-year deal worth $81 million, an average annual value of $16.2 million.

While lucrative, it’s still not what top-dollar pass-rushers make in today’s NFL. According to Over The Cap, an annual contract value of $16.2 million would rank 19th among edge players.

This kind of thing happens in the NFL, and more often than not, the player requesting a trade ends up remaining with his current team. Barring a shocking development, that’s the likely outcome here.