Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson is locked in a contract stalemate with the front office, showing that he will stand firm in negotiations. Football, for many in and around the game, is a job. Granted, millions of fans either show up or tune in to watch their favorite sport.
For athletes like Hendrickson, the game remains their chosen profession. As a result, he handles his career as if it were a business. Cincinnati management views the situation in the same way. With the two groups on opposite ends of the same situation, how will the Pro Bowl edge rusher continue to do business?
NFL Insider Shares Latest on Trey Hendrickson’s Minicamp Status
When watching his teammates Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins cash in on monster extensions, the elite pass rusher believes the team needs to prioritize him as well.
“I don’t want to take anything from all the great things they’ve accomplished in their careers,” Hendrickson said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, April 2. “I have a tremendous respect for both of them. But when it comes to my situation, it would have been nice to know in some ways, like, ‘Hey we’re going to put you in the queue,’ no problem with me.”
However, up until now, the front office does not seem to budge within this process. As a result, the 30-year-old feels like taking a hardline stance on this thorny financial issue makes the most sense. According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Hendrickson will not attend minicamp.
The #Bengals and reigning NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson have made no progress on a multiyear contract extension and he’s not expected to report for minicamp today, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
The standoff continues. pic.twitter.com/FoLib0uGnU
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 10, 2025
“The Bengals and reigning NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson have made no progress on a multiyear contract extension, and he’s not expected to report for minicamp today, sources tell me and [Ian Rapoport]. The standoff continues,” Pelissero tweeted.
Many evaluators feel that Hendrickson’s requests do not seem that unrealistic. Looking at his stats, they line up against any other pass rusher in the NFL. Hendrickson enters the 2025 season coming off back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons.
In comparison, in the same two-year span, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett totaled 28. Yet, he received an extension that will pay him $40 million annually. Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby tallied 22 sacks in the last two seasons. Still, the Raiders inked him to a contract that will pay him around $35 million per season. Meanwhile, Hendrickson, whose numbers tower over the others, will make $16 million this year.
Trey Hendrickson, and his 17.5 sacks in 2025, will not be an Bengals Mandatory Minicamp.
Hope everyone knows how hard it is to replicate this kind of third down impact… 😬 pic.twitter.com/8i9Nex1kfW
— Max Loeb (@loebsleads) June 10, 2025
When the Bengals released linebacker Germaine Pratt on June 9, the prevailing thought centered around the team freeing up money for Hendrickson. To this point, both sides seemed to be engaging in a million-dollar staring contest. The Bengals need their defensive end more than he needs them.
By delaying the extension, the Bengals’ front office gambles with their immediate future. Playing chicken with the best defender on the payroll could come back to bite Cincinnati.
From a football standpoint, how long can the team remain philosophically uneven, with the financial emphasis on the offense, and still attempt to compete?