Report: Insider Reveals Bengals’ Plan for Trey Hendrickson Before Tag Deadline

The Bengals have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET to use the franchise tag.

Sep 14, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates the win after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bengals aren't expected to use the franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson ahead of Tuesday's deadline according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. That isn't surprising after Duke Tobin's comments during the NFL combine, but it's certainly noteworthy.

"The sense at the end of the week is that Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) and Odafe Oweh (Chargers) will probably not be franchise-tagged," Fowler wrote. "That could change over the next 48 hours, but Oweh has not received any indication that he will be tagged, and most around the league would be surprised if the Bengals tag Hendrickson."

Hendrickson is considered one of the top free agents, despite only appearing in seven games in 2025.

Duke Tobin's Comments

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Cincinnati Bengals general manager Duke Tobin speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Tobin admitted that a tag and trade scenario involving Hendrickson was highlighly unlikely.

"All trades are difficult," Tobin said. "You've got to find a partner. You have to have some cooperation with your players that you're talking about this with. Trades can be complicated. That hypothetical scenario would be very complicated."

Even though it's difficult, he didn't completely rule it out. Regardless, the idea of the Bengals using the tag and trade on Hendrickson appears to have came and went. Cincinnati is ready to let him hit the free agent market.

"I don't throw anything off on or off the table with Trey, and we're excited about attacking this offseason," Tobin said last week. "We have resources to attack the offseason in a big way, and we want to do that in terms of how we're going to do that, how we're going to allocate our resources. You know, who is going to be on our own free agents, what are our intentions there? I'm not going to get into that right here. It's just not the time to announce that to the rest of the league."

Listen to Tobin's 36-minute audio only session with the local beat reporters below:

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