Report: Ex-Saints DE Trey Hendrickson to Sign 4-Year, $60M Contract with Bengals

Kevin Sabitus/Associated Press

Trey Hendrickson is moving on from the New Orleans Saints after agreeing to a four-year, $60 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

The move comes shortly after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Bengals lost Carl Lawson to the New York Jets on a three-year, $45 million deal.

Hendrickson was projected to earn $10.3 million per season by Spotrac, which would have placed him among the 20 highest-paid defensive ends in football alongside Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips. 

The 26-year-old stepped into a leading role on the Saints defense in his contract year, combining for 25 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 15 starts—all career highs. 

Now he's cashing in with the Bengals, where he'll slot onto a defensive line that obviously needed to replace Lawson off the edge.

With the NFL salary cap decreasing to $182.5 million this season, Cincinnati chose to spend big on Hendrickson, showing just how much the front office believes in his long-term ability to move the team forward.

However, this will be a major loss to New Orleans, which helped develop the Florida Atlantic product after selecting him in the third round of the 2017 draft. 

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After earning $825,00 in his final season with New Orleans, Hendrickson's payday is more than deserved.