Bengals Part Ways with Trey Hendrickson as Franchise Tag Goes Untouched
But here's the twist many fans might overlook: Cincinnati chose not to apply the franchise tag to defensive end Trey Hendrickson before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, effectively opening the door for him to sign with another team once free agency begins.
Hendrickson publicly bid farewell to Cincinnati after the deadline, expressing gratitude to the organization, coaches, and fans.
"To the organization: Thank you for the opportunity to play the game I love at the highest level," he wrote. "The last five years have been filled with great wins and tough losses. Personal achievements and humbling adversities. I was and always will be proud to have worn the Cincinnati Bengals logo and honor the history behind it."
Up until recently, Cincinnati hadn’t ruled out the possibility of tagging Hendrickson to potentially secure draft capital via a trade. However, at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin explained that tagging and then trading a player isn’t simple.
"All trades are difficult," Tobin told local reporters on Feb. 24. "You have to find a partner. you have to have cooperation with your players. Trades can be complicated."
Even if the Bengals had placed the franchise tag on Hendrickson and he had signed it before it was rescinded, it would have consumed about $30.2 million of next season’s cap.
This situation underscores a challenging chapter in Cincinnati’s approach to Hendrickson. Last offseason, the Bengals allowed him to explore a potential trade to gauge what could be gained as his contract neared its end. Hendrickson, coming off an All-Pro season with a league-leading 17.5 sacks, didn’t land a deal.
Hendrickson then skipped offseason workouts and began training camp with a holdout. The stalemate eventually ended when Cincinnati boosted his salary to $29 million, though that raise came with a $6.5 million dead-money charge against the cap from the previous year.
Injury complications followed, limiting Hendrickson to seven games and landing him on injured reserve in December after a core muscle issue flared up.
The decision not to use the tag marks a turning point for a player who had become one of the Bengals’ signature free-agent acquisitions. In 2021, Hendrickson and the team agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal. Over his first four seasons in Cincinnati, he emerged as one of the league’s most effective edge rushers, earning a Pro Bowl berth each year, and ranking highly in metrics like pressure rate (second in the NFL since 2021 at 13.2%), total sacks (61, fourth), and sacks that lead to fumbles (11, fourth) per ESPN Research.
Last season left Cincinnati at 6-11 after a midseason slide worsened by an injury to star quarterback Joe Burrow. At the combine, Tobin addressed the choice not to trade Hendrickson before the deadline, noting that opportunities for deals don’t always present themselves.
"The opportunities aren't always there," he said. "When you're talking trades, there are a lot of elements—the player's health, age, contract, current production. If you're in the swing of the season and you have a chance, and the guy is helping you have that chance, you're looking to keep the chance alive."
Would you pawn Hendrickson’s value in a midseason trade for draft capital, or do you believe the Bengals should have kept him and tried to maximize his impact in the present season? Share your take in the comments.
