Much to the chagrin of thier fans, the Cincinnati Bengals have a reputation as one of the stingiest teams in the NFL when it comes time to pay their players. Due to this, many were worried that the Bengals wouldn’t be ready to sign three of their major stars to the massive extensions they’ve earned this offseason.
Unfortunately, those worries are proving to be warranted. The Bengals placed the franchise tag on star receiver Tee Higgins for the second straight year rather than securing him to a long-term extension, and early rumors indicate that receiver Ja’Marr Chase and the organization aren’t close to getting a deal done.
Now, more bad news has come in for fans, this time concerning the NFL’s sack leader from last season.
“The Bengals have taken the rare step of granting All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade. ‘It’s been an honor and privilege to represent Cincinnati over the last four years,’ said Hendrickson, the NFL’s sack leader. ‘I love this city and organization. I appreciate the privilege of now being allowed to explore my options,'” reported ESPN’s Adam Scefter on Thursday.
The Bengals have taken the rare step of granting All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade. “It’s been an honor and privilege to represent Cincinnati over the last four years,” said Hendrickson, the NFL’s sack leader. “I love this city and organization. I appreciate… pic.twitter.com/7P7Hbe2Y9e
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2025
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Letting your only defensive player walk so you can pay 2 wide receivers is definitely a choice,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Starting to show their cards. Is this the set up for a pile to be thrown at Higgins?” one fan wanted to know.
“The owner gotta sell the team they’re never gonna win like this when’s he’s being cheap with every player,” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see where the Bengals go from here.
