Just when it looked like there was a chance the Cincinnati Bengals could be close to terms on a new contract with star defensive player Trey Hendrickson, it appears relationships have just hit rock bottom. Pittsburgh Steelers fans might have T.J. Watt to thank for this.
Days after signing a three-year, $123 million extension with $108 million fully guaranteed, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday morning that Hendrickson has left the state.
"Long-term extension talks between the Bengals and star Trey Hendrickson broke down over guaranteed money before camp," Rapoport posted on X. "And Hendrickson has now indicated he left the state."
Meanwhile, ESPN insider Adam Schefter confirmed that Hendrickson will not report to training camp with the rest of his team. All along, Hendrickson has said he will not play under his current contract, and Schefter believes he's sticking to his word.
This is devastating news for a Bengals team hoping to compete for the playoffs this year.
T.J. Watt's record-setting deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers may have destroyed the Bengals' contract talks with Trey Hendrickson
If the Cincinnati Bengals had offered Trey Hendrickson $35 million per season early in the offseason, that may have been enough for him to run to the facility and ink his contract. However, there's been a major edge rusher market reset, and Hendrickson knows his worth.
Reports suggested the Bengals and Hendrickson weren't close to coming to terms on a deal before Watt's extension. So you can imagine how far apart they are on contract talks after Watt just became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
At $41 million per season with roughly $20 more fully-guaranteed money than even Myles Garrett, Watt just broke the market... and it's starting to make sense why Hendrickson is leaving town.
Hendrickson isn't T.J. Watt as a football player, but he's got a terrific case to be made for a huge contract. Like Watt, Hendrickson is 30 years old (the Bengals star is a few months younger, even). However, he's had more sack production over the past two seasons. Hendrickson is coming off back-to-back seasons of 17.5 sacks.
In addition to leading the NFL in sacks in 2024, Hendrickson finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Meanwhile, the Bengals star earned a 90.4 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus last season, which ranked in the top five among 109 qualifying edge rushers.
With Watt's deal reaching numbers the league has never seen, the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson may be too far off in contract talks to salvage this broken relationship. Even if he doesn't exceed Watt or Garrett, Hendrickson is unlikely to settle for a deal that will make him anything other than the third-highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. And that's assuming the Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson don't get their deals done first.
The Bengals' contract extension dilemma with Trey Hendrickson just got worse than anyone thought imaginable, and we might have Steelers star T.J. Watt to thank for Hendrickson leaving town without a deal.