Bengals working to retain Trey Hendrickson after giving Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins massive deals, per reports

The Cincinnati Bengals may be able to have their cake and eat it, too. Less than 24 hours after word came down the franchise  is inking historic extensions with receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, it now appears Cincinnati may also be keeping another familiar face in town. The Bengals are working to retain star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, and those talks between the two sides are ongoing, according to The Athletic.

If the Bengals do end up finding a way to keep Hendrickson aboard, it would be an almost unfathomable development. Throughout the offseason, it appeared as if he might be the casualty of the team prioritizing extensions for Chase and Higgins, and they even permitted Hendrickson, who has one year remaining on his contract and is looking for an extension himself, to seek a trade. The Bengals were reportedly asking for a first-round pick plus additional assets for Hendrickson. 

So far, no deal has come across the wire, and with the dust now settled on Chase and Higgins extensions, the team can now turn its attention toward potentially keeping Hendrickson for the foreseeable future. Similar to Chase and Higgins, however, it’ll likely cost a pretty penny. 

Hendrickson, 30, is coming off a tremendous season where he led the NFL with 17.5 sacks. That sack total matches his production from the 2023 season, which broke a franchise record that he previously set in 2021 with 14 sacks. Along with the sacks, Hendrickson also notched 46 tackles, 36 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles in 2024, which helped him earn first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career. He was also named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth consecutive year. 

Hendrickson initially entered the league as a third-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints in 2017 out of Florida Atlantic. He spent the first four years of his career with the Saints before signing a four-year, $60 million contract with the Bengals in March of 2021 and has been with the club ever since.