The sudden, strange saga between the Cincinnati Bengals and star defensive end Trey Hendrickson took another turn on Wednesday night before the 2024 draft.
Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic later verified that Hendrickson’s trade request was related to his wish for a longer-term extension.
Hendrickson’s agent revealed to Charlie Clifford of WLWT that the edge defender is “considering retirement ahead of this regular season if the two sides fail to reach an agreement on a new contract.” That was the strange part, though.
The fact that he is threatening to retire and that a trade request has been made public as the team is trying to get ready for the first round of the draft on Thursday night is a startling development that illustrates how serious the problem is getting.
As a reminder, the Bengals and Hendrickson agreed on a one-year extension just last summer, which gave the defensive end a $5 million pay bump and $16 million more on the additional year.
Still, the request likely comes from the fact Hendrickson outplayed his original deal with the team, then put up 43 total tackles and 17.5 sacks last season, becoming a first-team All-Pro.
Like with Tee Higgins, this is one multi-faceted issue in which the team holds much of the leverage.
