Report Surfaces On Bengals' Willingness to Franchise Tag Trey Hendrickson

CINCINNATI — Trey Hendrickson may be the gift that keeps on giving this offseason for Bengals' storylines. NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo reported on Super Bowl LX Sunday that the Bengals could use the projected $30-plus million franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson during the Feb. 17-Mar. 3 window after striking a one-year deal with the star edge rusher last season.

Hendrickson played in less than half of Cincinnati's games this past season for his first injury-riddled NFL campaign, but things could be running back again after he posted 35 sacks combined in 2023 and 2024.

Cincinnati used the tag on Tee Higgins last offseason, and that move led to him earning a long-term deal. This could lead to that same result, another Band-Aid, or a Hendrickson trade.

"Remember that deal he did before the season after the holdout," Garafolo said. "It was a one-year deal where they agreed on a number. We said, 'Okay, Trey Hendrickson is going to play out his last year and then be a free agent and then head elsewhere,' maybe, but maybe not.

"Our understanding is that the Bengals are still considering using the franchise tag. Now, could it be a tag and trade possibility? Perhaps, sounds like all options are on the table for Hendrickson right now, but it is not a foregone conclusion that his time in Cincinnati is over. We will track this as we get into the scouting combine and then closer to the start of free agency in March."

Cincinnati would be tying up a good chunk of salary cap resources by keeping Hendrickson on the tag all offseason or even into the season, but dealing him quickly after tagging him right when the window starts (Feb. 17) would set them up for a clean financial slate entering free agency and likely more draft capital from his trade.

There are plenty of ways for Cincinnati to handle a topic that the director of player personnel, Duke Tobin, knows very well from the past few years.

"That one was contentious," Tobin said about the Hendrickson contract saga earlier this offseason."There are a lot of contentious deals. We’re not on an island by ourselves in that kind of stuff. That’s the way of the world. We have to place a value on a player. They’ll place their own value on themselves. We have to come to something that makes sense for both.

"When I negotiate with a player or agent, I’m not negotiating against that player or agent. I’m negotiating on behalf of the rest of our football team. On behalf of the city of Cincinnati, which wants the best football team it can have. I’m not saying you deserve less, and it’s isolated in a cocoon. I’m trying to preserve as much as I can to do other things that will benefit all of us."

Check out the full report from Garafolo below:

The Insiders on @NFLGameDay with @TomPelissero, @MikeGarafolo, and @JudyBattista: #Colts plan to open talks for Daniel Jones; #Bengals could franchise tag Trey Hendrickson; #Giants QB Russell Wilson’s future; #Cowboys will tag George Pickens, but could trade him. pic.twitter.com/R5lcNyorZY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 8, 2026

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