Duke Tobin, Zac Taylor Break Silence on Trey Hendrickson’s Future With the Bengals

CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason. The former All-Pro is arguably the best free agent signing in team history.

Is his time coming to an end in Cincinnati?

"There's always a path," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said earlier this month when asked about the possibility of Hendrickson returning.

The star pass rusher is 31 years old and only played in seven games this season. He finished with four sacks and missed the final nine games of the year due to a core muscle injury.

Hendrickson and the Bengals have butted heads over his contract in recent years. That included a trade request last offseason and the team giving him permission to seek a trade. Ultimately, they gave Hendrickson a $13 million raise to get him on the field before the start of the regular season.

Both Hendrickson and the Bengals knew his departure this offseason was a realistic possibility without a long-term contract in place.

Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin was non-committal when asked about Hendrickson's future last week.

"I don't know what the future holds for Trey. Those are discussions that we're going to have to have ongoing," Tobin said. "He's one of a number of free agents that we have that we'll have to decide how we're going to go forward with. But pass rush is king, and you always need to be layering in pass rushers. It can develop from within your team, and I think we've seen some of that start to develop from within our team. And then I think we need to find some from external sources, as well."

The Bengals could try to sign Hendrickson to an extension this offseason or use the franchise tag on him. They used a void year in 2025, which means the franchise tag is a bit more reasonable. If they did use the tag on Hendrickson, he would make $30.2 million, but his cap hit would be $36.7 million. He wasn't worried about the tag being a possibility in August.

"With the salaries going up and the tag also will be going up, so it's not something that I'm concerned about," Hendrickson said.

While there's always a path to a deal, both Taylor and Tobin stopped short of making any declarations about Hendrickson's future.

For more on Hendrickson's future and the Bengals' offseason plans, watch the video below and subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Amazon.

Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals!

-----

Join the 63,000+ Bengals fans that subscribe to us on YouTube.

Join the 115,000+ Bengals Fans That Have Liked Our Facebook Page

Subscribe and follow the Locked On Bengals Podcast: the ONLY Daily Bengals Podcast

Join the 49,000+ Bengals Fans That Follow Us on TikTok