NFL Teams Reportedly Didn't Think Bengals Were 'Serious' About Trey Hendrickson Trade

The Cincinnati Bengals may have granted defensive end Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade, but other NFL teams reportedly don't believe last season's sack leader has really been on the market.

According to The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr., consensus from the annual NFL league meeting in Palm Beach "was that other teams never felt the Bengals were serious about trading Hendrickson."

If Cincinnati had seriously considered a trade, "a deal probably could have been reached and the Bengals could have adjusted by hedging with a couple of mid-tier pass rusher signings in free agency to compete with the extra pick," Dehner wrote.

The report comes amid ongoing contract negotiations between the Bengals and Hendrickson, who is set to hit free agency in 2026 and could consider a training camp holdout without an extension.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on March 6 that the Bengals were allowing Hendrickson to seek a trade.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini then wrote on March 15 that one general manager had called the Bengals' asking price "ridiculous." The Athletic's Ben Standig reported Cincinnati was asking for "a first-round pick at minimum."

Meanwhile, offseason signings like Danielle Hunter's one-year, $35.6 million extension with the Houston Texans have raised the ceiling of the market for the NFL's defensive stars. The Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett (four years, $160 million) and the Las Vegas Raiders' Maxx Crosby (three years, $106.5 million) have also signed lucrative deals this spring.

Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said when speaking on Tuesday at the NFL's annual meetings that she believes Hendrickson "should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn't think he'd be happy at," per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Hendrickson responded in a Wednesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, during which he said Blackburn's comments were "a little disappointing because communication has been poor over the last couple of months."

The Bengals star also added "there are things that I'm willing to do and not willing to budge on" in negotiations.

Given the public split between Hendrickson and his team regarding contract negotiations, in addition to a seeming lack of trade interest in a player who paced the NFL with 17.5 sacks last season, Bengals leadership may need to adjust either their asking price or contract offer in order to break the stalemate.