Last month, Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson requested a trade just one day before the NFL Draft. Hendrickson has two years remaining on his contract and will be paid base salaries of $14.8 million and $15.8 million for those seasons, along with per-game roster bonuses of $200,000, but none of that money is guaranteed.
After the Bengals drafted edge rusher Myles Murphy in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the clock likely began ticking on Hendrickson's time in Cincinnati. So right before the draft, it was reported that Hendrickson wanted to be moved so that he could enter a contract with more long-term security.
Obviously, that has not happened. Cincinnati did add another edge rusher in the 2024 draft, though only with a sixth-round pick (Cedric Johnson). And the Bengals have also not dealt away wide receiver Tee Higgins, who similarly requested a trade for contractual reasons after he was franchise-tagged earlier this offseason.
Trench work 😤
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) May 13, 2024
Offseason Workouts | @KetteringHealth pic.twitter.com/1AvcTJ76L1
With minicamps and organized team activities for the offseason underway, Hendrickson was featured in a social media video showing Bengals players getting in their workouts. So it would appear that he's trying to remain in the good graces of his current team, even if he'd prefer to be moved elsewhere.
Coming off his third consecutive Pro Bowl season and one during which he notched 17.5 sacks, Hendrickson is undoubtedly still one of the top edge defenders in the game. Things can always change rather quickly in the NFL, though, so it makes sense that he wants to lock in further security ahead of his age-30 season. It remains to be seen whether the Bengals are open to that, or to sending him to a team that is.
