As of August 25th, 2025, Cincinnati Bengals fans can breathe a (momentary) side of relief. Trey Hendrickson has agreed to a reworked deal that will pay him $30 million for the 2025 season. However, this is not an extension, meaning Hendrickson will be a free agent following this upcoming season. Following several seasons of contract drama leading into week one with the stars of the team, the Bengals finally locked down one of their guys before a week one deadline, if only for a season.
What this means (short term)
At least for this season, the Bengals defense got better. A unit that was hoping to rebound after a disastrous 2024 season got a top 5 pass rusher in the league back, and hopefully with some development from younger players, Hendrickson will be leading a much-improved pass rush. A combo of Hendrickson and Shemart Stewart should get Bengals fans excited, as they have the potential to be a game-wrecking duo.
For Hendrickson and his agent, it is hard to see this as anything other than a win. He got an extension that was rightly deserved and will potentially get the chance to shove the Bengals lack of year two and three guarantees in their face after the season ends. Dianna Russini of the Athletic reported shortly after the deal was announced that the Bengals had put forth a 3-year deal on the table, but the lack of guarantees ultimately sunk, at least for the time being.
What this means (long term)
Buddy, the Bengals are putting a ton of faith in their young edge rushers. The team has plenty of cap space after this season to enter into negotiations again (or potentially Franchise tag, but that feels like it would get even uglier) if they wish, but after this round, it is hard to see it going much better, especially if Hendrickson performs the way he has been.
This is a pretty big gamble on Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy more than anything. Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample are free agents again after this season, and Cedric Johnson is a day-3 pick. Stewart has looked the part throughout training camp, so that spot feels potentially filled, but Murphy has shown next to nothing in two seasons in the black and orange. If nothing else, this puts DL as a potential high need, yet again, going into the 2026 offseason.
Final Word
The Bengals got better today. A holdout of one of their top 5 players ended, and he will be practicing with the team two weeks prior to the opener. This is a team that should finally have no distractions going into the season for the first time since pre-Burrow. However, it is hard to understate how badly the team has fumbled the negations for a guy who wants to be in this city and on this team. But that also may be written on their epitaph one day.
