After a season of contract negotiations and bad feelings between Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals, the franchise might be poised to do it all over again.<\/p>\n
The Bengals are keeping all options open with Hendrickson, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. That even means that they could use the franchise tag on him again for a second straight season.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur understanding is that the Bengals are still considering using the franchise tag,\u201d Garafolo said. \u201cNow, could it be a tag-and-trade possibility? Perhaps. Sounds like all options are on the table for Hendrickson right now, but it is not a foregone conclusion that his time in Cincinnati is over.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Insiders on @NFLGameDay<\/a> with @TomPelissero<\/a>, @MikeGarafolo<\/a>, and @JudyBattista<\/a>: #Colts<\/a> plan to open talks for Daniel Jones; #Bengals<\/a> could franchise tag Trey Hendrickson; #Giants<\/a> QB Russell Wilson\u2019s future; #Cowboys<\/a> will tag George Pickens, but could trade him. pic.twitter.com\/R5lcNyorZY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 8, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Hendrickson and the Bengals were involved in a major contract dispute last summer that led to a lot of bad feelings between both sides<\/a>. He eventually signed a one-year deal after a training camp holdout, only to miss most of the season due to injury.<\/p>\n One would imagine the Bengals would want to avoid another soap opera with Hendrickson. On the other hand, they would not want to lose such a valuable player for nothing. It is easy to envision Hendrickson reacting poorly to another franchise tag, though.<\/p>\n Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in both 2023 and 2024. He had four last season while limited to seven games.<\/p>\n