The Cincinnati Bengals are open to trading four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson, according to a report.
Hendrickson and the Bengals have been locked in talks over a long-term extension for months, with neither side seemingly willing to give an inch in the negotiations.
Now, the Bengal are ready to call an end to the contract impasse and are now willing to listen to offers for Hendrickson.
However, according to NFL Network Insiders, any deal for the pass rusher will be expensive, likely requiring a young player and a future draft pick.
The saga has rumbled on throughout the offseason and initially saw Hendrickson skip the early days of their training camp as he held out for a new contract.
However, at the end of last month, he returned as a ‘good-faith gesture’ to reignite dormant negotiations.
The Cincinnati Bengals are open to trading four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson and the Bengals have been locked in talks over a long-term extension for months
The Bengals have also faced a salary cap crunch since signing quarterback Joe Burrow’s favorite targets Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to contract extensions totaling $276 million this offseason.
Currently the pair accounts for less than 17 percent of the team’s cap figure, but that number balloons to more than 20 percent in 2028, making a long-term deal for Hendrickson a bit more complicated.
Hendrickson, who is due to earn $16 million in the final year of his contract this season, has publicly expressed his desire for a contract extension in Cincinnati.
Hendrickson signed an extension in 2023 that will keep him in tiger stripes through the 2025 season, where he will make a base salary of $15.8 million and count for $18.6 million against Cincinnati’s cap number.
Prior to the draft, the Bengals gave Hendrickson permission to seek a trade, but within weeks those talks were off the table, according to Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
The former Florida Atlantic standout sounded optimistic about a new deal in early April despite struggling to come to terms with the Bengals.
He signed an extension in 2023 that will keep him in tiger stripes through the 2025 season
‘I wouldn’t call it frustrating,’ Hendrickson told WLWT Cincinnati. ‘It gives me an opportunity to prove my worth every season.’
The four-time Pro Bowl selection recorded 18 sacks in each of his last two seasons in Cincinnati, where he signed in 2021.
The team recently got some good news about its other holdout, first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who has now signed his rookie deal and joined teammates at training camp after squabbling with the front office over language in the contract.
The team was in need of help along the defensive line after the retirement of another defensive end, popular Cincinnati-area native Sam Hubbard.
