The Cincinnati Bengals did the reasonable thing for once. They put the team first, winning first and finally look like a team ready to get back into contention for the AFC championship. They finalized a deal to keep Trey Hendrickson with the team this year, make him happy and get him ready for Week 1. It’s a smart move and one that’s been done by a team that knows all too well about winning championships.
That’s right, the Bengals carbon copied the model the Chiefs used with Chris Jones to appease him in the interim, buy time for a new contract and still keep the teams’ best defensive player on the roster for the upcoming season. Coincidentally, they went on to beat the San Francisco 49ers to win a Super Bowl that year.
The Bengals hope to have the same fate after making sure the NFL’s sack leader from a year ago returned for the upcoming season. Cincinnati solved one problem with making sure Hendrickson is back this season, but it only delays the real problem.
The Cincinnati Bengals copied the Kansas City Chiefs
The Bengals were smart to keep Hendrickson for this year, but it only puts a bandaid on the bigger problem. They don’t have an elite EDGE rusher for next year and if he has another strong season, his value will skyrocket. The Bengals didn’t want to pay Hendrickson his projected $30 million this season for more than this season. That’s not a bad gamble, but it does mean they don’t get any closer to solving their defensive problem.
For as good as Hendrickson is, he’s clearly not enough to make this defense competitive in the AFC like it was a few years ago. When the Chiefs signed Jones to his unique deal in the 2023 season, he truly was the missing piece. They had the secondary – to an extent – and they had the linebackers.
Cincinnati is far from fielding a championship-level defense. That probably played a role in why they didn’t want to commit to Hendrickson long term because it would eliminate funds to improve this defense as a whole. This re-work could ultimately help Cincinnati, but they still have work to do.
In an offseason that was filled with drama involving their defensive line, they finally put an end to it. But it only brings on more questions than answers. Maybe copying the Chiefs model will be enough to win a championship. After all, this Bengals team is constructed vastly similar to that 2023 Chiefs roster. Joe Burrow now has all the pressure on him and the offense to outscore everybody, because Hendrickson himself won’t be able to stop opposing offenses from scoring.