Joe Burrow needs Trey Hendrickson on the field – now.
But the Cincinnati Bengals are refusing to make an exception for one of the best defenders in the NFL, and a months-long contract ‘standoff’ has become the biggest story of the league entering Week 1.
“A trade is going to be tough at this point because so far the Bengals have asked for a lot when teams have called,” NFL Insider Dan Graziano exclusively told talkSPORT as part of his role in our expanded football coverage this season.
Hendrickson, 30, is coming off the best season of his eight-year career.
He led the NFL with 17.5 sacks, topping second-place Myles Garrett by 3.5.
But while Garrett demanded a trade from the Cleveland Browns and was ultimately rewarded with a record-setting four-year, $160 million contract extension, Hendrickson has been strong-armed by the Bengals throughout the offseason.
Bitter contract standoff continues in Cincy
Trade rumors resurfaced before Cincinnati defeated the Washington Commanders 31-17 in a preseason contest on Monday night.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said in pregame coverage that the Bengals and Hendrickson have agreed on the length of a deal and the average annual value, but the sides are “nowhere close” when it comes to all-important guaranteed money.
Garrett received $123 million in guaranteed cash from the Browns, while Maxx Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5m extension with the Las Vegas Raiders in March that featured $91.5m guaranteed.
They are now among the highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL.
Graziano said that trading Hendrickson is much more complicated than it appears.
“You’re talking about a first-round draft pick and a player,” he said.
“And then if you’re the team that gives that up, you now have a 30-year-old edge rusher that wants a new contract.
“So you’re going to have to give the Bengals a high pick, a player, and give the player that you’re getting a brand new, very expensive contract.”
Burrow needs Hendrickson on the field
Burrow put up NFL MVP numbers last season, leading the league with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns.
The former No. 1 overall pick from LSU finished fourth in MVP voting and won Comeback Player of the Year.
But the Bengals started 1-4 and were just 4-8 at the beginning of December.
A defense that ranked 25th in the NFL in average yards allowed (348.3) and scoring (25.5 points) regularly let down one of the league’s premier offenses.
That makes Hendrickon’s Week 1 activation even more important, yet Cincy is already running out of time to have him in peak health on the field.
Graziano referenced a September 2018 trade of Khalil Mack from the then-Oakland Raiders to the Chicago Bears as proof that blockbuster deals can happen in the days before Week 1.
Too late to pull off a blockbuster?
But the NFL Insider said that, “even back in March, there weren’t a ton of teams lining up to do all that” for Hendrickson, and “teams are pretty much salary capped out” at the end of the preseason.
“The fact that this has come up again here in the last couple of days — the idea that they’re having trade conversations — could mean a couple of different things,” Graziano said.
“One, it could mean that Trey and his agent are trying to goose something to get it done.
“I’m not trying to guess at people’s sources or anything like that. But it could also mean that the team is kind of floating it to kind of remind him like, ‘Hey, man, you don’t have another option.’
“Like, ‘We have had you out there, we have had conversations. We can’t find the team that will give us what we think you’re worth and also pay you the contract. So why don’t you come back and listen again to our offer?’ Which as I understand it is a one-year extension beyond 2025 for $36 million or something like that.”
Hendrickson has played in all 17 regular-season games the last two years, and has recorded 57 total sacks during his four seasons in Cincy.
A third-round pick (No. 107 overall in 2017) by the New Orleans Saints out of Florida Atlantic, the 6ft 4in and 265lb defensive end is a four-time Pro Bowler with career earnings of $68.2 million.
Bengals can be cheap with guaranteed money
Tee Higgins, Burrow and Chase have all been financially rewarded by the Bengals, and Burrow is one of the best-paid players in the NFL.
But Hendrickson is still waiting on his new guaranteed money, and teams including the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers and Raiders would immediately benefit from adding one of the league’s premier defenders.
“They don’t like to guarantee, the Bengals. They don’t like to guarantee money in future years,” Graziano said.
“They made an exception for Joe Burrow and one for Ja’Marr Chase, but that’s it. And that’s been where the standoff has been.
“So … what has to happen? Somebody’s got to change their position, and the Bengals seem pretty resolute in theirs.”
Dan Graziano will regularly contribute to talkSPORT’s expanded NFL coverage this season, including exclusive interviews and videos on talkSPORT’s YouTube and Facebook pages.