Trey Hendrickson allegedly calls out Bengals’ lowball offer as contract talks stall: "They are atrociously low"

Trey Hendrickson continues to battle with the Cincinnati Bengals in what has apparently become heated contract negotiations during the 2025 NFL offseason. The superstar edge rusher has been seeking a long-term extension after leading all players in sacks last year, but the franchise has yet to give him what he's been hoping for.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Bengals increased their offer to Hendrickson with training camp just days away. According to Manti Te'o via Tom Pelissero on "Good Morning Football," the offer wasn't nearly good enough for the defender. Te'o claims to have spoken with Hendrickson, who said the proposed contract was just not good enough.

Hendrickson allegedly said:

"They are atrociously low."

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Pelissero clarified that Hendrickson was specifically referring to the guaranteed portion of the contract extension that was recently offered to him by the Bengals. The two sides are apparently still far apart on the terms of a potential deal, which complicates things as training camp quickly approaches.

Hendrickson has reportedly made it perfectly clear that he will refuse to play on his current contract, which is worth $16 million in the final year of the deal this season. The Bengals are scheduled to open camp on Wednesday, so unless something changes quickly, he is unlikely to be in attendance.

Bengals owner Mike Brown comments on Trey Hendrickson contract negotiations

Trey Hendrickson

Having an elite edge rusher is one of the most valuable pieces for any defense. Trey Hendrickson surely qualifies as one of them after leading the NFL in sacks last year. This is still apparently not enough for the Cincinnati Bengals to give him his desired contract extension to this point in the offseason.

Owner Mike Brown was recently asked about the ongoing negotiations, via Bengals beat reporter Kelsey Conway. He expressed a desire to retain Hendrickson, while also commenting on the challenges of negotiating with him.

Brown stated:

"It has been a long negotiation. Trey Hendrickson is a fine player, he's a good guy. We want him here, but dealing with him is sometimes not so easy, and that's alright, he's got the right to argue his case. We'll try to make sense of it from our perspective and we'll see."

It sounds as though the two sides have drastically different views on what Hendrickson deserves in a potential contract extension. He has insisted that he will hold out if he doesn't get a new deal, so it will be interesting to see how things play out with Bengals training camp opening this week.

Edited by Adam Hulse