{"id":727483,"date":"2026-02-04T00:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T00:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/727483\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T00:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T00:14:15","slug":"odds-very-slim-on-cincinnati-bengals-keeping-all-pro-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/727483\/","title":{"rendered":"Odds ‘Very Slim’ on Cincinnati Bengals Keeping All-Pro in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>\u2018 defensive effort wasn\u2019t good enough last season. While the Bengals\u2019 defense has been an issue for several seasons (haven\u2019t ranked above 31st since 2022), only one team allowed more points than Cincinnati did in 2024. <\/p>\n

Unlike last offseason when the Bengals moved on from defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, head coach Zac Taylor decided to stick with his defensive playcaller, Al Golden. While the Bengals will be retaining their defensive coordinator, they could be set to lose one of their best overall players. <\/p>\n

Recently, ESPN\u2019s Ben Baby<\/a> suggested that the odds of the Bengals keeping pending free agent Trey Hendrickson are \u201cvery slim.\u201d The 31-year-old has been an extremely valuable member of the Bengals, but it may be tough for Cincinnati to find common ground with its prized pass-rusher during contract negotiations. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, the Bengals will have to make a decision on Hendrickson\u2019s contract. But unlike in previous years, this one is much clearer. The odds are very slim that Cincinnati and Hendrickson, who is arguably the best free agent signing in franchise history, will find a path forward. Hendrickson played in just seven games last season because of a core muscle injury that required season-ending surgery. He\u2019s 31 years old and it doesn\u2019t make a ton of financial sense to stay in Cincinnati, either on the franchise tag or on a short-term contract. His time with the Bengals has yielded four Pro Bowls, an All-Pro nod and 61 sacks during his five-year tenure.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Ben Baby on Trey Hendrickson<\/p>\n

Hendrickson will likely prioritize a chance to play for a postseason contender in free agency this offseason. Yet, after injuries limited him to just seven games, some teams may be hesitant to commit to a long-term contract with the four-time Pro Bowler. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, others will see Hendrickson for the impact player that he is, one who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024 and has recorded double-digit sacks in four of his past six seasons. Even with his recent durability concerns, Hendrickson\u2019s track record should still get him a healthy payday from a potential playoff team. <\/p>\n

Related: 2026 Super Bowl Ad Cost Reaches Staggering Amount<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\tDedicated NFL copywriter\/editor. My work has been found on Sportsnaut, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo, and Minnesota Sports … More about Andrew Buller-Russ<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals\u2018 defensive effort wasn\u2019t good enough last season. While the Bengals\u2019 defense has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":727484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6,1503],"class_list":{"0":"post-727483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","11":"tag-cincinnatibengals","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-trey-hendrickson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116009479740721277","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/727484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}