Trey Hendrickson Reacts to New Contract With Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Bengals agreed to a re-worked deal with defensive end Trey Hendrickson on Monday.

The reigning NFL sack leader will make $30 million this season—$14 million more than the $16 million he was scheduled to make. Hendrickson is still scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the season.

"It gives a lot of clarity to the 2025 defense," Hendrickson told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "It gives us a couple of more good practices, and with a great offseason in the books, both personally and as a team, I feel like now we can go collectively play for the 2025 Bengals. And what's best for the team is the best players playing in their relative positions."

The writing appears to be on the wall that the star defensive end and the team will go their separate ways after the 2025 campaign, but Hendrickson isn't focus on his impending free agency.

"We're taking one day at a time," Hendrickson told Hobson. "Moving forward, we'll figure that out as it goes. For this season, to be given a raise I didn't necessarily had to have been given, it's a blessing to be in a position where I've been brought up to my peers. And also being able to get after quarterbacks."

Hendrickson is entering his fifth season with the Bengals. He has 35 sacks over the past two years and 57 sacks combined in four seasons with the team.

"Trey's been great. Trey's been a leader. Trey's been unselfish through this whole time," Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said. "He's communicating with everybody and is really trying to be a role model for the young guys and give everything he can in terms of teaching them. He's been great. It's part of the business. It's unfortunate. I'd love the opportunity to coach him obviously, so we'll see how it plays out. That side of it is an unfortunate part of the business."

Fortunately for Golden and the Bengals, the business side is handled—for now.

How long will it take Hendrickson to get ready for the regular season? Golden says the All-Pro defensive end is "plug-and-play."

"His play, his resume, warrants that," Golden said. "He's working on his conditioning with Joey (Boese) and the staff, and he's doing a great job with the playbook and everything."

Hendrickson will practice for the first time this season and has nearly two weeks to get ready for the regular season opener against the Browns on Sunday, Sept. 7.

Check out Hobson's entire conversation with Hendrickson here.

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