Trey Hendrickson remains in search of long-term contract with Bengals, wants to be 'part of something special'

The standoff between Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals is over -- for now, at least. The standout defensive end concluded his lengthy hold-in after he agreed on Monday to sign an amended contract, rewarding him with a sizable raise for the 2025 season. Hendrickson did not, however, secure a long-term deal with the Bengals and is still set to hit the open market at the end of the campaign as an unrestricted free agent.

The raise effectively bought the two sides time in working out a deal beyond 2025. Hendrickson made it clear that he wants to remain in Cincinnati over the long haul, but given how long it took to settle on a figure for this season (he missed the entire spring practice slate, too), it is unclear whether he and the Bengals will structure a contract that appeals to both sides. 

"I want to be a part of something special here," Hendrickson said after Wednesday's practice, his first since last season. "I've vocalized that pretty early and often. Again, I can't write my own contracts. I think we'd all as players love to do that. There wasn't one that I saw long term that I would've considered."

It took until July 30 for Hendrickson to even arrive in Cincinnati after he spent the first handful of days of camp out of state in Florida. His holdout transitioned into a hold-in when he returned to team facilities. It was a self-described "selfish act" to step away from the team during its ramp-up for the season.

Hendrickson was initially set to earn $16 million in the final year of his contract. After the drawn-out negotiations, he will make nearly double that number with a $30 million salary. His earnings for this season are now in line with other elite pass rushers, and divisional foes, in Cleveland's Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt, who secured three years of fully guaranteed money from their respective teams. Disagreements over the guaranteed portion of Hendrickson's potential long-term deal were reportedly the crux of the tension in negotiations.

Hendrickson signed his first deal with the Bengals in 2021, and he earned Pro Bowl nods in each of his first four years in Cincinnati. The former New Orleans Saint exploded in his development after three years as a reserve and cemented himself over the last five seasons as one of the NFL's premier disruptors with at least 13.5 sacks in all but one campaign since 2020. He finished second in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting last season behind Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II with an NFL-best 17.5 sacks.