Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals and one of their best players aren’t seeing eye-to-eye.
In what seems to be a worrisome trend for this front office, they’ve gotten on one of their stars’ bad sides.
Star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson didn’t report for training camp, and it looks like he might not show up at all.
With that in mind, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network revealed that Hendrickson is looking to get guaranteed money beyond this season, which has been the standard around the league:
“What [Trey Hendrickson] wants is guaranteed money into next year and beyond. That is what a lot of the really good pass-rusher contracts have featured. That’s what T.J. Watt’s contract featured. That seems to be what Hendrickson wants, and there’s a couple of ways this could go. They could, by the time he steps on the field, figure out a way to get this done in a way that all sides are happy, or they could simply not, and Hendrickson could go out, play this year, then be a free agent next year and end this band-aid situation. That’s not what either side wants as of now,” Rapoport said.
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The #Bengals and NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson are in negotiations and while there was optimism from owner Mike Brown today, they aren’t there yet. pic.twitter.com/jcTZEnd5rI
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 21, 2025
The Bengals have their own way of operating and dealing with player contracts, and it has repeatedly rubbed their players the wrong way, up to the point where even first-round rookie Shemar Stewart has refused to sign his contract.
They’re quite careful about the guaranteed money they give their players, and while they have every right to take that approach, Hendrickson also has every right to do what he believes is best for his career.
At the end of the day, it seems like the Bengals need him more than he needs them, and even if he forfeits money and sits out for a year, he will still make a lot of money in free agency next season.
The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in the game last season, and that was despite Hendrickson leading the league in sacks.
One can only imagine how they might fare if they don’t have their superstar pass-rusher on the field for the start of the season.
NEXT: Bengals Owner Gets Honest About Trey Hendrickson’s Potential Deal
