The Cincinnati Bengals are finding as many loopholes as they can as they’re negotiating Trey Hendrickson’s new contract extension. He’s made it clear he’s willing to hold out into the season, so the pressure is on. The Bengals are playing hardball and there might be logic to it. The Bengals might be incentivized to wait a bit longer on Hendrickson’s new deal to avoid overpaying him.
Though Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks last year with 17.5, he isn’t quite yielding a Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby level contract. At the same time, he deserves to be compensated for how talented he is. Which is why the Bengals waiting until the Detroit Lions extend Aidan Hutchinson might give them the context they need to get it done.
This might have been their play this whole time in which that was actually smart. They were already forced to overspend for Tee Higgins so they probably didn’t want to make that same mistake. The problem is they could be at a point of no return. The Bengals surrendered their control of the situation.
The Detroit Lions just might bail the Cincinnati Bengals out of their Trey Hendrickson problem
While the Lions might be able to dictate how negotiations will go for Hendrickson over the next few weeks, it doesn’t mean that will be enough. Hendrickson could very well have a number in mind that he’s willing to settle at and if the Bengals don’t meet, both sides are back at square one.
This is the problem the Bengals faced waiting as long as they have and mishandling everything. Hendrickson probably has no incentive to work in the team’s interest either because they have essentially given him the cold shoulder.
The front office could have done better by Hendrickson. Instead they made him more mad as negotiations have gone nowhere. What the Lions do with Hutchinson could very well dictate how the Bengals move forward with Hendrickson. That said, it doesn’t mean Hendrickson will play along. Those days seem behind him. He knows he’s in control now.
Cincinnati should have done better by Hendrickson. He's one of the most destructive EDGE rushers in the NFL and deserves to be paid like it. The Bengals don't have a lot of room to negotiate either with massive holes all over their defense either. They put themselves in this position, they have to figure out how to get out of it.