The Cincinnati Bengals are allowing defensive end Trey Hendrickson to leave in free agency next week.
Hendrickson is one of the top free agents set to hit the open market and will command a sizable contract. The Bengals are hoping he signs a lucrative deal so he could net them a 2027 NFL Draft compensatory pick. It’s the only way they can get anything in return for letting him walk.
But gaining a compensatory pick isn’t always so easy, and the process may get tricky for Cincinnati.
How the Bengals can get the best compensatory pick for Trey Hendrickson
The first step in gaining a compensatory pick for a free agent departure is the free agent signing a large enough contract to qualify for the process. There can only be 32 picks given out every single year, and the cutoff is usually around $2-3 million in terms of Average Annual Value (AAV).
Hendrickson will safely be over that AAV cutoff. He just played on a one-year, $29 million deal, and with his services expected to be in demand, he’ll likely be getting a raise when it’s all said and done.
Advertisement
That’s the good news. Hendrickson will be signing one of the largest deals in free agency this year, and that will set the Bengals up to receive a third-round compensatory pick, which is the highest compensatory pick possible.
There were three 2025 third-round comp picks given out to teams who lost qualifying free agents in 2024. The Minnesota Vikings received one for losing Kirk Cousins ($45m AAV), the Miami Dolphins received one for losing Robert Hunt ($20m AAV), and the New York Giants received one for losing Xavier McKinney ($17m AAV).
These players didn’t just sign large deals, they also played enough in the 2024 season. Playing time also counts toward the comp pick formula, so Hendrickson will need to play enough for the team that signs him to a large AAV.
Again, so far so good for Cincinnati. Hendrickson just needs to sign one of the largest contracts in free agency and play the majority of the 2026 season. But both of these factors can be nullified if the Bengals are overly active in free agency.
Cincinnati needs to lose more qualifying free agents than it gains
This is the biggest hurdle of the process by far. Hendrickson can’t be the only free agent who leaves Cincinnati for a qualifying AAV. If the Bengals only sign one qualifying free agent, it cancels out Hendrickson in the process.
Considering they are expected to sign multiple defensive free agents this month, they’re going to need just as many of their own free agents to sign qualifying deals.
Cincinnati has 13 impending free agents set to hit the market, including DE Joseph Ossai, quarterback Joe Flacco, safety Geno Stone, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, and tight end Noah Fant. These are the most likely candidates to sign deals worth more than the league minimum.
Advertisement
Best case scenario
The more players from that list sign qualifying deals, the better the chance the Bengals have at netting a high comp pick for losing Hendrickson. If they all find those deals and count towards the formula, Cincinnati has clearance to sign the same number of qualifying contracts with their own free agent additions.
The Bengals should still be active next week regardless if they lose a potential comp pick in the process. There’s no guarantee Hendrickson will play enough to count toward next year’s tally anyways.
It’s ultimately out of their hands, but it’s a risk they must take.
window.addEventListener(‘message’, function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll && event.data.totalpoll.action === ‘resizeHeight’) {document.querySelector(‘#totalpoll-iframe-359’).height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector(‘#totalpoll-iframe-359’).contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: ‘requestHeight’}}, ‘*’);
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Mar 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.