As the Cincinnati Bengals want to end their two-year NFL playoff drought, contract battles have been taking place. Joe Burrow, the quarterback, wants to win a Super Bowl and with that, he needs key teammates to stay. One of those is defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who hasn’t signed his extension yet. Now, team owner Mike Brown has cleared the air on the whole situation.
Most of the news regarding the Hendrickson situation have not been positive ones. Hendrickson wants to get paid handsomely and the Bengals haven’t been obliging. Needless to say, the fanbase is in panic of losing their best defensive player.
But keep calm! Team owner Mike Brown spoke to the Cincinnati Enquirer about the matter. “It’s been a long negotiation. Trey Hendrickson is a fine player. He’s a good guy. We want him here,” Brown detailed. “Dealing with him is sometimes not so easy, and that’s all right. He’s got the right to argue his case. We’ll try to make sense of it from our perspective. We’ll see. I’m not persuaded that it isn’t going to get done. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”
Hendrickson might try to get top-of-the-market money
Hendrickson is trying to get a multi-year deal, it seems like that is his priority. However, seeing the contracts that other defensive ends and pass rushers have been getting, it wouldn’t shock the fact that he is trying to get a big bag. After all, Chiefs‘ George Karlaftis signed a 4-year, $93 million extension, and Steelers’ T.J. Watt put his name on the dotted line of a 3-year, $123 million contract.
Hendrickson might fall between those two. However, it should be leaning more towards Watt’s side than Karlaftis‘. In the end, Hendrickson was the NFL sacks leader last season with 17.5, and he recorded that same number two years ago. He has been consistently elite for the Bengals.
The market is resetting in Hendrickson’s favor
The longer you take to re-sign a player, the bigger the risk and the Bengals just suffered that. Just in the last week, Karlaftis and Watt got a massive extension. If the Bengals don’t get this done quickly, more moves might affect them.
For example, it’s being reported that Denver is in talks to extend Nik Bonitto. So, as the team owner said, “the sooner the better.” Hendrickson is in the middle of his prime with no signs of slowing down. Playing hard-ball is not something Cincinnati can afford right now.