It always starts the same way: quiet. No drama, no headlines. Just the kind of silence that makes the fans wonder what in the world is going on. The Bengals say all the right things about Trey Hendrickson: how much they value him, how he’s ‘in the plans.’ But if you’ve been following this team long enough, you know the signs. The vague comments. The delayed talks. The feeling that something’s off in the defensive end’s case.
Well, let’s be honest, the Bengals fans have seen this before. A star player, a contract clock ticking, and a front office that moves at its own speed. There’s history here, and not the kind fans love to relive. But with Trey Hendrickson, this feels different. Bigger. And a Bengals icon might have given us an insight into what might be unfolding behind the scenes.
Trey Hendrickson might be going through what another Bengals icon has already been through, as he revealed exactly how things unraveled. Let’s just say, this ambiguity and the silence. There’s a lot more at play here. And T.J. Houshmandzadeh revealed exactly how the Bengals are going to play this out. “I know when I left Bengal[s] it was strictly a financial decision. I was getting frustrated like ‘are y’all really offering me this? I was underpaid the last 3 years.’ And then the Bengals turned around and signed Laveranues Cole and Antonio Bryant $24 million in guaranteed money… If they offered that to me? I would’ve walked from California to Cincinnati to sign that deal,” he said.
Contract negotiations are professional mind games @housh84 @jharrison9292 @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/igmSMTJJEr
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) July 7, 2025
Houshmandzadeh headed to Seattle in 2009, and the Bengals? They went in and got Laveranues Coles and Antonio Bryant. The result? Neither guy lasted more than a season. Hearing this? The Bengals fans fear this is exactly what might happen with the Trey deal. Because this isn’t a lack of decision-making. It’s a tactic. It’s a pattern. The team drags its feet, tosses out a lowball offer, and then out of nowhere signs someone else to a big-money deal. It’s not just frustrating, it feels like a slap in the face. You can’t help but wonder if it’s part of some weird strategy, but either way, it always seems to end the same: hurt feelings, the tension in the locker room, and fans left shaking their heads thinking, ‘Here we go again.’
“It starts to get frustrating. So we’re like we don’t even take their calls no more, f— them, we’re leaving. So when you resign, you are happy you resigned. But you still had that animosity over the months of them BSing. But damn, I know they regret that,” he added.
And they did regret it. Big time. The Bengals watched both of those pricey replacements flame out, while Houshmandzadeh went on to rack up over 900 yards in his last full season. Classic Bengals move, right? Rather than locking up their own guy when his value was clear, the front office played hardball and lost. Hopefully, they don’t make the same mistake this time around. So where exactly do Trey and the Bengals stand right now?
Trey and the Bengals are in a contract standoff
We’re in 2025 now. And after Housh’s words, the Trey Hendrickson contract situation is starting to feel like deja vu. Back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks, one of the most disruptive edge rushers in the league, and still… silence. No extension. No clarity. Just another elite Bengal hitting a career peak while the front office hesitates. Sound familiar? It should.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said that the talks “with Trey are not any further along.” That’s code for: stuck in the mud. There’s a bigger context here. Factor in his age, the man is 30 now, and guaranteeing money isn’t a want, it’s a requirement. You’d think he should be rewarded for the consistency, but the Bengals? They perceive it differently.
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 12: Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson 91 limps off the field after the game against the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals on November 12, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA NOV 12 Texans at Bengals EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon231112031
The Bengals want a short-term deal with minimal guarantees. Basically: ‘We want you… just not too much.’ And that’s where it starts to sting. Fans hear the team say Trey’s a cornerstone, a leader, untouchable in trade talks. But behind the scenes, it’s the same old cautious, bargain-bin Cincinnati approach. Bengals fans have seen this movie before. And yeah, the ending? Let’s just say it doesn’t always turn out well. For both parties.
The Bengals can let go of him and sign a short-term option with ‘minimal guarantee money‘, but they’ll be letting go of someone who consistently produces, week in and week out. And in today’s NFL? Consistency is everything. Unless you’re signing a franchise player, you do not let go of consistency. They’ve seen it before with Housh, but did they learn? Everything indicates at no. They should play this safe and give the man what he wants. What do you think?
The post Bengals News: Front Office Deliberately Frustrating Trey Hendrickson Amid No Contract Progress appeared first on EssentiallySports.
