For the past two seasons, Trey Hendrickson has consistently recorded 17½ sacks, a total that led the NFL in 2024. Despite his standout performances, Hendrickson has also been the focus of trade rumors during the last two off seasons.
The issue seems clear to the Cincinnati Bengals, as Hendrickson’s All-Pro level of play is undeniable. While Hendrickson’s individual efforts have been exceptional, the team’s overall defensive struggles have hindered their playoff success. Had the Bengals been able to play better defense collectively, or figured out how to defeat teams like the struggling 4-13 New England Patriots at home, they could have gone further in the postseason.
These kinds of shortcomings are what allow a talented team to dominate weaker opponents in December, even if it struggles to make it past the postseason challenges in January – a situation that essentially defined the 2024 Bengals. However, there’s no denying that they nearly pushed a flawed Kansas City Chiefs team to its limits with a Super Bowl spot on the line, much like they did in the 2021 playoffs, when Cincinnati won the AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium.
Operating like a small, family-run business in one of the NFL’s smallest markets makes it challenging for the Bengals to achieve long-term success. In contrast, successful teams often operate like major corporations, even when they’re in small cities, like Green Bay, Wisconsin.
When it comes to player acquisition and retention, the Bengals often seem to be at a disadvantage, as if they’re dealing with an added financial burden when trying to land experienced or rising stars from the free-agent market, which they rarely engage in. Ironically, Trey Hendrickson is one of the few exceptions. The Bengals signed him four years ago after his standout 2020 season with the New Orleans Saints, another team that faces similar financial challenges.
The Cincinnati Bengals found themselves in a difficult situation even before news broke on Thursday that Trey Hendrickson, with 57 sacks and 169 pressures since joining the team, was granted permission to seek a trade. While the Bengals were smart enough to sign quarterback Joe Burrow to a five-year, $275 million deal in 2023 before his price became astronomical, the team has struggled to adequately address other key needs. They’ve been chasing reliable offensive linemen to protect Burrow, delayed resolving wide receiver Tee Higgins’ contract situation by franchising him again for $26.2 million, and failed to secure a multi-year extension with Ja’Marr Chase, which became a distraction early last season. Despite this, Chase has proven himself as potentially the league’s best receiver in 2024, forcing the Bengals’ director of player personnel, Duke Tobin, to acknowledge that Chase will likely become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. This is especially relevant as the Las Vegas Raiders just set a new benchmark by giving Maxx Crosby a lucrative contract, which sets the starting point for Chase’s future salary at $35.5 million per year.
Since the end of last season, Joe Burrow has been vocal about the Bengals needing to retain their top players, expressing frustration over the fact that other teams, like the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles, don’t seem to struggle with this issue. Unfortunately for the Bengals, they are often playing catch-up when it comes to setting salary scales for key positions, similar to how the Dallas Cowboys operate, rather than proactively addressing them. Even though Bengals’ director of player personnel Duke Tobin publicly agrees with Burrow, his outspoken star, the team still finds itself in this difficult position.