Bengals rumors – Syndication Server

NFL insider expects ‘strong trade interest’ for Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson

Only if the Bengals can’t do a deal and put him on the trade block, of course.

The Cincinnati Bengals and star pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson could put an end to speculation about their future together as soon as this week.

Hendrickson’s agent, after all, revealed that he will meet with the Bengals, likely this upcoming week, about the contract situation.

Until then, though, outsiders won’t stop speculating about whether Hendrickson’s time with the Bengals might be up.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN revealed on Saturday that some around the league think Hendrickson — alongside Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett — will be one of the biggest names on the trade block this offseason:

As one league source predicts, “Maxx, Myles and Trey will all be tied up in [trade] talks.” The expectation is Crosby and Hendrickson will get strong trade interest if their respective teams decide to entertain calls. But teams must figure out this edge rush market, either by proactively signing their own players to high-end money or finding a way to get younger and cheaper at the position. And this is another challenge for the Bengals, in particular; they have not yet reached agreements with receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Unlikely as that seems, Hendrickson did throw out a slight extend-or-trade ultimatum to the Bengals this week during interviews around the Super Bowl.

Prior to that, the Bengals have acknowledged that Hendrickson has earned a pay raise — not that such an admission means the two parties can actually agree on the numbers.

The Bengals have many big items circled in red this offseason, with Hendrickson’s future right up there alongside Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. When it comes to Hendrickson, fans could see traction in one direction or the other in the coming days.

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As Tee Higgins’ free agency rumors start, Bengals have plenty of options

Don’t sleep on options like the franchise tag for the Bengals and Tee Higgins.

Already this week at the Pro Bowl, NFL rumors suggested the upcoming market value for Cincinnati Bengals free agent Tee Higgins.

The numbers weren’t shocking by any means and left those doing the reporting with plenty of outs. Higgins could make roughly $28 million per year in average annual value (AAV), a top-10 mark for wideouts — but it could go well over $30 million AAV if a bidding war starts.

Now, another report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has echoed the same, but from the Senior Bowl:

The over/under on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins’ market is $30 million per season, and the majority of team personnel that I spoke with believe he’ll hit or clear the over. The lowest estimate I heard was somewhere slightly above DeVonta Smith’s three-year, $75 million deal. The rest saw him breaking into the $30 million range, based on his status as a No. 1-caliber receiver and the number of teams desperate for pass-catching help.

One thing to keep in mind — a second franchise tag would only cost the Bengals roughly $26 million.

Granted, it’s probably in Cincinnati’s best interests to just get a multi-year agreement done. It would ease the actual cap hits and do right by Higgins at the same time.

Reports have suggested Higgins isn’t looking to go be a No. 1 elsewhere. He’s changed agents and Joe Burrow keeps putting pressure on the front office publicly about this.

While the Bengals might have some reservations about Higgins’ history of injuries, pushing past those to give him a deal in the franchise-tag range might just be enough to keep him from the open market and those $30 million projections.

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NFL rumors pinpoint Tee Higgins’ free agency market contract value

Can the Bengals match this contract value and keep Tee Higgins?

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins wants his future contract and free agency situation solved “very soon.”

Meaning, the Bengals are on the clock and don’t have long to figure out if they will make good on Joe Burrow’s desire to keep Higgins in town.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Higgins’ next contract could come in somewhere near the likes of other big names — but not necessarily at the very top of the market:

There are some past injury concerns — Higgins has missed five games each of the past two years — that could keep the number under the very top end of the market, but he should do better than the guys who got extensions with years left on their deals last offseason. Some of the people I spoke to believe he could get a little more per year than Jaylen Waddle’s $28.25 million average and a little more guaranteed than DeVonta Smith’s $69.998 million.

Over the years, this has been the problem with trying to project Higgins’ inevitable big second contract. He’s unquestionably a top target in the NFL, but soft-tissue injuries have plagued him since his college days. He’s only suited up in 12 games in each of the last two seasons.

Higgins getting around the $28 million per year mark would rank him within the top 10 among wideouts, at least for this offseason. But it would still place him below the likes of Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson. The latter’s $35 million average annual value will be something Ja’Marr Chase leapfrogs soon.

This outlook is something the Bengals could capitalize on, though. Prior reports have suggested Higgins isn’t eager to go be a No. 1 on another team. And he switched agents, somewhat hinting he’s willing to go about negotiations differently than last year, which led to a franchise tag.

A second franchise tag would cost the Bengals a hair over $26 million in 2025. If his AAV on a contract extension lands near there and prevents a bidding war on the open market, though, the Bengals could look to get it done with Higgins sooner rather than later.

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J.J. Watt fuels unretirement to join Bengals rumors

Like Rob Gronkowski before him, J.J. Watt is the new unretirement for Bengals rumor.

Not that long ago, Rob Gronkowski revealed that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow did, in fact, recruit him to come out of retirement and join the team.

Now it seems we’re getting the J.J. Watt version of that story.

Watt took to social media this weekend to reveal that he had made a specific wager with Burnley F.C. goalkeeper James Trafford.

Simply put, Watt bet Trafford on December 28 that if doesn’t let up another goal for the remainder of the season, Watt would come out of retirement to play for the Bengals.

Since that bet? Burnley has let up zero goals over five matches, including two saved penalty kicks during Trafford’s latest match.

Watt, who is a partial owner of Burnley, posted a caption that says it all:

This is starting to become a bit of a concern… pic.twitter.com/MrOdjRz2En

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 18, 2025

The Bengals adding Watt to pair with Trey Hendrickson would be wild and go a long way toward fixing one of the defense’s biggest problems.

Reality check time, though — Trafford will have to keep up his end of the bargain through the end of his season on May 3.

In other news, there are suddenly quite a few new Burnley fans in the greater Cincinnati area.

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Bengals thoughts on hot seats, coaching hires, free agents and more

Notes and thoughts on the latest around the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals are off to a slow start on a historically critical offseason.

Does that mean they’re waiting on a specific coaching candidate? Are coaches on the hot seat? What to do about free agents like Tee Higgins?

Some current thoughts on the Bengals.

On hot seats

This has to be it. Even for the Bengals. We can throw out any discourse we want about the franchise letting Marvin Lewis hang around for nearly two decades. We can also throw out all the goodwill Zac Taylor earned with the turnaround and Super Bowl appearance. In today’s NFL, he’s a head coach who has been given the rare chance to do-over key spots under him like defensive coordinator and problem spots like offensive line coach. If his team flops out of the gates again in September because he can’t put together an offseason program that gets his guys properly ready, it probably closes the era.

On defensive coordinators

Are they waiting on Al Golden? Is it smart to go with a retread who had already been in the building, and likely at great cost? Or is it Patrick Graham, who doesn’t have all that much experience as a coordinator? Hard to say, but it might not matter — all that matters is the new guy’s vision properly aligns with the never-changing scouting department and that he can actually develop players. Keep in mind that Dan Pitcher didn’t have a wild resume before a very successful trip as a coordinator last season.

On paying Tee Higgins

Just do it. No need to make Burrow mad. The loss of a key piece like Jessie Bates should’ve never happened and look where it got them. And here’s the biggest consideration of all — who else do they need to pay, anyway? Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson, sure. But guys they hoped would need big extensions — like Cam Taylor-Britt and Dax Hill — certainly don’t. Myles Murphy isn’t exactly on track for one, either. Don’t forget the huge whiff on Jermaine Burton, too.

On free agents

The Bengals have a few key free agents they need to retain. But the rest need to be outside guys developed by other teams. Think, interior offensive linemen. Maybe pass-rushers. Show fans an all-in status for once as an apology for spoiling an MVP quarterback season, triple crown wideout season and the NFL sacks leader.

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Are Bengals waiting on familiar name for defensive coordinator position?

Will the Bengals have their next defensive coordinator soon?

When Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden shot down the idea of joining the Cincinnati Bengals as Zac Taylor fired up the search for a new one, it was hard to tell if he was just going coachspeak with his answer.

Bengals fans are getting closer to finding out.

Golden’s Fighting Irish play in the national title game on Monday night. After that, onlookers might see some traction for Golden possibly rejoining the Bengals.

It’s a conversation at all because Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator search has been suspiciously quiet. The Bengals reportedly had two interviews with candidates lined up and another big name was apparently involved.

But that’s a smaller number of reports than one might expect, especially around a vacant position that is sure to be one of the hottest openings out there, considering the state of the Cincinnati offense.

Naturally, that should lead to some speculation that Taylor will seek to go back to Golden, who coached linebackers under him early at the start of this new era and helped bring along the likes of Germaine Pratt.

After Monday night, don’t be shocked if the rumblings around this Bengals position amp up in a big way.

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All-Pro WR wonders if Bengals’ Tee Higgins is a Packers target

Even other NFL players want to see what happens if Tee Higgins hits free agency.

The buzz around Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins is only continuing to grow, which surely everyone understood would happen after the season.

Despite the big miss on Jermaine Burton and other factors pointing to the Bengals keeping Higgins this offseason, literally, nothing will shut down the buzz and chatter until the team can get something done (provided it does, of course).

Case in point, New York Jets star Davante Adams wondering aloud if the Green Bay Packers are going after Higgins.

During an appearance on the “Up And Adams Show” with Kay Adams, the coincidentally named Adams said, “I heard they’ve been looking into Tee Higgins” while praising the Bengals’ wideout.

No word on if Adams (the wide receiver) has actually heard this around the NFL or is merely referring to a recent report from ESPN that said the Packers will target Higgins.

Either way, this Higgins free agency hype isn’t just coming from fans, clearly — even players around the NFL understand that Higgins will be the likely top name on the market…if the Bengals let him get there.

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Should Bengals consider surprisingly available name for DC job?

An old friend of the Bengals and fans is back on the open market.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been working through multiple different interviews to fill their vacant defensive coordinator position.

Zac Taylor and the Bengals have also been linked to one major name, while another report of a controversial name got shot down.

One name that hasn’t come up — at least not yet — is an old friend.

Mike Zimmer, the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati from 2008-2013 under head coach Marvin Lewis, was just let go alongside the entire coaching staff in Dallas.

While Zimmer is now 68 years old and apparently considering retirement in the wake of the news around the chaotic Cowboys, one has to wonder if Taylor and the Bengals might put out feelers — just in case.

Zimmer, after all, was beloved during his time in Cincinnati. His tenure as a head coach in Minnesota from 2014-2021 isn’t necessarily a reflection on his abilities as a coordinator, and his previous rapport with Duke Tobin and the front office might be something that can help the staff and scouting departments better align on visions for the roster.

If nothing else, the Bengals should probably be doing preliminary due diligence on this topic.

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Bengals defensive coordinator idea shot down by report

So much for this NFL rumor involving the Bengals.

Early this week, the Cincinnati Bengals got brought up alongside the name Wink Martindale as they continue to search for their next defensive coordinator.

It was an incredibly strange bit of speculation/reporting because the Bengals and Martindale don’t exactly have the friendliest relationship in recent years.

Not long after that started making the rounds, another report has stated that Martindale was never part of Cincinnati’s search for a new coordinator.

The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. added this: “Considering the unfriendly history between the #Bengals and Wink Martindale, it’s kind of funny they somehow got caught up in the conversation about him for DC.”

So that settles that and the attention now turns to the few interviews the Bengals have already had, plus the big name involved as a possible candidate.

Barring something dramatic and unexpected, Martindale being mentioned as a candidate for anything related to the Bengals will go down as a funny “hey remember when?” and little more.

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NFL rumors say Bengals could have interest in surprise name for DC

A new name pops up for the Bengals on the NFL rumor mill.

Could the Cincinnati Bengals go after a familiar AFC North name as the team’s next defensive coordinator?

While the Bengals have had a few interviews with candidates already and a big name has entered the conversation, there could be a late, notable entry.

Wink Martindale.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, while reporting that Martindale will interview with the Falcons and Colts this week, added this: “The #Bengals also could have interest in Martindale, who is college football’s highest-paid coordinator at Michigan. One to watch.”

Bengals fans will recall that Martindale used to serve as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens — his choice words for Ja’Marr Chase and others, combined with the Bengals’ rise, ended his tenure there pretty quickly.

Since, Martindale worked for a few years with the New York Giants before becoming the coordinator at Michigan.

Given Martindale’s vast history and experience in the division, it only makes sense that the Bengals might do due diligence on this front.

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