Cincinnati Bengals management knew it would be a difficult task signing three of their biggest stars this offseason.
With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins grabbing their bags early, it’s defensive end Trey Hendrickson who still awaits. The dynamic WR duo each received four-year deals, with Chase earning $161 million and Higgins $115 million. With the 2025 NFL Draft now a few weeks away, concern continues to grow for last year’s sack king and his contract negotiations.
NFL Analyst Offers Clarity in Hendrickson Saga
Following an April Fools’ Day gone wrong, Hendrickson was disappointed regarding a message that was released from team management.
Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn’s message essentially stated that the 17.5-sack man should be happy, and if he wasn’t, it was on him. Hendrickson was not happy and responded, “the one thing that I was hoping was an April Fools’ joke was that article.”
Shortly after this fiasco, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport joined “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss what he knows and believes regarding the Florida Atlantic University product’s future.
"I believe the Bengals would like to keep and pay Trey Hendrickson..
We'll see if that happens and I still think that it's very possible" ~ @RapSheet #PMSLive https://t.co/SMzJL6huvb pic.twitter.com/o7qxmO2XLQ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 7, 2025
Members of the show were not the only ones shocked by Blackburn’s statement, as Rapoport too was in disbelief.
“Hearing Katie Blackburn, who rarely does media, say that was really interesting,” said Rapoport. “I kinda thought the same thing… I was like wow it’s been a little spicy. There has been two trade requests, one last year, one this year, this year, he actually has permission but no trade has happened. So yeah, it’s a little messy.”
Rapoport continued his thoughts by describing how he views the Bengals’ position at the moment.
“I believe the Bengals would like to keep him and pay him, and make it work,” said Rapoport. “They are not in the business of letting good players go, so even when they granted him permission to seek a trade, I believe their best option was to sign him and pay him.”
Rapoport continued, “We’ll see if that happens, I still think it is very very possible. And if that happens, despite all the mess, it will be a really really good offseason in Cincinnati.”
Hendrickson the Bright Spot in Disastrous Bengals Defense
The 2024-25 campaign was a forgettable one for everyone on the Cincinnati defense other than Hendrickson. Referencing PFSN’s 2024 NFL Defense+ metric, the Bengals slotted in all the way down at No. 28. Their 66.9 (D) grade may have been a lot worse if it were not for the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year nominee. PFSN’s Sterling Xie details where the main bleeding points were for Cincinnati and some moves they have already made.
“Cincinnati was a below-average defense by every metric that comprises Defense+ except for turnover rate (10th), which is a notoriously fickle year-to-year stat.
“This defense needs a hard reset when the offseason arrives. The Bengals began that process by firing longtime defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on Black Monday, but that can only be the first of many steps back toward competence.”
If the Bengals hope to return to the postseason in 2025, their defense must be the catalyst in turning things around. This includes significantly improving the 25.6 average points allowed per contest in 2024.