On Sunday, it was reported that the Bengals were listening to trade offers for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson in the midst of the team's struggles to get a new contract done with him. But if the reports of what the Bengals want in a deal are true, then, uhh...a trade might not be happening here.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Bengals want a 2026 first-round pick and a young defensive player for Hendrickson. But don't worry, Cincinnati isn't being too greedy here. They don't need a young pass rusher back. They just need any young defensive player.
Let's talk about why this asking price simply isn't going to be met by any of the other 31 NFL teams.
Bengals asking price for Trey Hendrickson is too steep
It's been a tumultuous offseason for Hendrickson and the Bengals. He skipped OTAs. He skipped part of training camp. He's now at camp, but he's yet to practice and says he won't play without a new contract. The Bengals gave him permission to seek a trade, but nothing came together.
All this makes for a situation where a team could, in theory, be able to swoop in and get Hendrickson for cheap. It's clear the two sides are very far apart, so you might assume the Bengals would be willing to move Hendrickson for a mid-round pick just to get him off the team.
Nope! Instead, they're alienating every potential suitor by asking for a first-rounder and a young player. And to top it off, whoever trades for Hendrickson is then going to be responsible for working out a new contract with him.
It's clear to me what's happening here: the Bengals don't want to trade Hendrickson. (They also don't want to pay him what he wants, which complicates this whole thing, but that's beside the point.)
The Bengals aren't hiding their intentions with Trey Hendrickson
You can understand why the Bengals would love to work something out to keep Hendrickson, as he led the NFL in sacks last season. And in a vacuum, you can understand why they want what they want in a potential trade.
But the NFL isn't the NBA. You don't get huge assets for disgruntled players. This just feels like another point in the standoff between these two sides. Either the sides will come together to get a deal done that works for both sides, or the Bengals will lower the asking price, because it's hard to imagine someone giving up a first for a 31-year-old pass rusher who wants a big-money contract.
As it stands right now, the Bengals aren't going to get what they're asking for. There might be a few Bengals players worth a first-round pick, but it's hard to imagine Hendrickson is one of them after how this offseason has gone.