The Cincinnati Bengals are 3-5, and if it weren't for the fraudulent nature of the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers atop the AFC North, we'd probably be sounding more alarm bells right now. Joe Burrow is down for the count, or at least until very late in the season. Joe Flacco is already hurt, although he's prepared to battle through a shoulder injury in Week 9. Not a good idea, methinks.
This team just has no path forward. The defense continues to rank near the bottom of the NFL. The offense can absolutely crackle when Burrow is under center, but things are naturally more muted with Flacco. Cincinnati, for the season, ranks 29th in total yards per game — 21st in passing and 31st in running.
That is indicative of just how widespread the Bengals' issues are. It's not just missing Burrow. In fact, Flacco is probably better than your average stopgap quarterback. But the offensive line is a sieve, the run game is nonexistent and the defense can't generate a single clutch stop, it feels like. Cincy is only 1.5 games behind Pittsburgh, but they're a bad football team masquerading as a fringe, "frisky" contender.
That makes their trade stance on Trey Hendrickson absolutely maddening.
NFL teams 'don't believe' Bengals plan to trade Trey Hendrickson
Several contenders have inquired about Hendrickson's availability ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline, per The Athletic's Dianna Russini. And yet, some teams "don't believe Cincinnati has any real interest in moving its core pieces," she wrote on X. Sigh.
Teams, including the Rams, 49ers, Lions, Colts, and Eagles, have called the Bengals about several players, including Logan Wilson and Trey Hendrickson.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) November 1, 2025
For now, some teams don’t believe Cincinnati has any real interest in moving its core pieces.https://t.co/udXsXx5pJp pic.twitter.com/5rBjVViD4p
It's exceedingly difficult to decipher the logic here. Cincinnati is two games below .500 with an actively bad team, in a division that won't get any easier once the Baltimore Ravens wake up. Burrow has missed significant time in two of the last three seasons. The defense has been a catastrophic weakness the whole time. What exactly are the Bengals holding out hope for?
Sure, Hendrickson is an incredible player. He led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last season and is Cincinnati's best (sometimes only) source of pocket pressure. He's 30, with gas left in the tank and 4.0 sacks through seven weeks this season. Wanting to keep your best available players is generally an understandable instinct. Often a very good one.
But Hendrickson's contract expires at season's end. We just went through a months-long song and dance last offseason when Cincinnati effectively refused to meet his contract demands. In the end, both sides settled on a ballooned one-year contract worth $25.2 million. He's a free agent in the summer. He can just pick up and leave, which seems likely if the Bengals a) aren't competitive and b) don't want to pay him his worth.
There is, of course, a world in which Cincinnati and Hendrickson are able to find common ground next offseason, but what are the odds? And are they in the Bengals' favor? Hendrickson has professed his love for Cincy and the community around the team, but he also professed — rather loudly — his frustration when the front office refused to negotiate in good faith after all he's done for the city and the organization.
It's not like the comments from Cincinnati's side were any better. Here's what GM Duke Tobin said in the midst of stalled negotiations (h/t Sports Illustrated).
"Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension … he has. We’re cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is, is what is to be determined. We can't have guys at the top of the payroll in every position, right? We'll do what we can. We'll do what we feel is right, and we will try to get Trey re-signed. It's not giving anybody an extension. It's agreeing with somebody on an extension."
That sure sounds like code for "we can't afford and/or don't want to pay this man." Cincy's cap sheet won't get any neater in 2026. So if Hendrickson's future in Cincinnati is a coin toss at best or an impossibility at worst, it would only make sense to trade him now — when there is a long line of contenders ready to pay sticker price for a premium edge rusher. The sheer volume of teams interested in Hendrickson suggests a potential bidding war and a hearty return package for the Bengals.
Alas, Cincy has thus far held strong and rebuffed Hendrickson trade offers. Perhaps the result of Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears changes things, but the Bengals are playing a dangerous game against their better judgement.