There was a brief moment where it felt like the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson were set to part ways this year. Hendrickson’s permission to seek a trade was granted days prior to free agency, but offers received by Cincinnati weren’t enough to move the All-Pro defensive end.
That was over two months ago, and while the situation between Hendrickson and the Bengals hasn’t gotten any better, the likelihood of his time with the team ending this year is smaller than the likelihood of him staying beyond 2025.
Bleacher Report and Underdog’s James Palmer told Kay Adams he expects Hendrickson and the Bengals to come together eventually on a contract extension, and trading him away now after the offseason period of acquisitions passed doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
“I think something does end up getting done. I just think it’s hard when you mention him getting moved when everybody’s already made spent their money in free agency,” Palmer said on Up & Adams. “They already went through the draft and filled some other holes there as well. The amount of money that you’d probably have to have because you’re not going to trade (for) him and not sign him. It’s going to be difficult process.
“Not saying it’s impossible, never say never in the NFL, but deals like this don’t happen, trade-wise, at this point of the NFL calendar very often.”
That’s the sentiment from around the team right now as well. The Bengals see Hendrickson as someone who can help them accomplish their goals for the season, and the window of turning him into assets that could also achieve that has pretty much passed.
The main goal, of course, is to bring a Super Bowl title to Cincinnati for the first time in franchise history. As Palmer noted, the willingness to pay wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins massive contracts was the club’s way of confirming its sights on winning it all.
“You don’t make the deals for Ja’Marr [Chase] and Tee Higgins, and you have the deal in place for Joe [Burrow], and you push for all of those contracts to be done to not be on a Super Bowl pursuit,” Palmer said. “You can’t win a Super Bowl without a star pass rusher. It just doesn’t usually happen very often. And so if you’re looking to part ways with him, are you all in on a Super Bowl?”
There’s certainly more the Bengals could do to make a Super Bowl push easier, such as ensuring contract dilemmas don’t trickle into offseason workouts, but their way of doing business has rarely been altered for the sake of convenience.
Cincinnati still has time to work something out with its best defensive player, and for any club looking to acquire him during this period is likely to be disappointed if they weren’t already. Trading with the Bengals is an already notoriously difficult endeavor. This particular scenario combined with its current spot on the NFL calendar is no different.
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