The sudden, strange saga between the Cincinnati Bengals and star defensive end Trey Hendrickson took another turn on Wednesday night before the 2024 draft.
Hendrickson’s trade request was later confirmed by Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic as pertaining to his desire for a longer-term extension.
The strange part, though, was Hendrickson’s agent talking to WLWT’s Charlie Clifford and revealing that the edge defender is “considering retirement ahead of this regular season if the two sides fail to reach an agreement on a new contract.”
ESPN’s Ben Baby also talked with Hendrickson’s agent, Harold Lewis.
“Our number one goal is to get a long-term commitment from them,” Lewis said, per Baby. “If we can’t, then we’re asking for a trade. And hopefully if he gets traded, that’s what we do — get a long-term commitment with somewhere else.”
That’s a stunning development — the threat of retirement, paired with a trade request going public as the team attempts to prep for the first round of the draft on Thursday night, speaks to how serious the situation is quickly becoming.
As a reminder, the Bengals and Hendrickson agreed on a one-year extension just last summer, which gave the defensive end a $5 million pay bump and $16 million more on the additional year.
Still, the request likely comes from the fact Hendrickson outplayed his original deal with the team, then put up 43 total tackles and 17.5 sacks last season, becoming a first-team All-Pro.
Like with Tee Higgins, this is one multi-faceted issue in which the team holds much of the leverage.
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