The contract standoff between the Cincinnati Bengals and star defensive end Trey Hendrickson remains in neutral — both in terms of the outlook and actual news coming out.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini recently provided a post-draft update of sorts, saying that there are still “really good vibes coming out of Cincy” when it comes to a Hendrickson extension.
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An extension has felt like the likeliest outcome for a while now in the wake of the team granting Hendrickson’s request to seek a trade. As expected, nothing materialized from that because of his age, trade asking price, and extension asking price.
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The Bengals did draft Shemar Stewart in the first round, but that never indicated anything on the Hendrickson front given the prospect’s fit in the current defense and need for development, which Zac Taylor stressed.
Cincinnati continues to hold all the leverage with Hendrickson, who threatened retirement last offseason and seems unlikely to just up and sit out in 2025. The Bengals have said they want to bump his pay on an extension, but there’s no hard deadline to get something done.
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Still, the Bengals would probably not want more contract drama seeping into training camp like last year, so that could be a soft deadline of sorts.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals, Trey Hendrickson contract drama updated by insider