CINCINNATI — Trey Hendrickson had plenty of reason to smile in the Bengals locker room Wednesday, following his first practice with the team since the end of last season.
Hendrickson signed a new contract this week, raising his 2025 salary by $14 million in cash to $30 million this season and a chance at free agency this coming spring. A long-term solution was the top option for Hendrickson, but he’s glad to have all of this behind him despite the compromise.
“I’m a football player, and football players play football,” Hendrickson declared. “It’s good to be back out there with the guys. Not that I didn’t enjoy coaching, but that’s not what I’m here to do. Looking forward to getting after the quarterbacks … [Bengals Performance Coach] Joey Boese did a great job of keeping me in shape, whether that was forms of conditioning and weightlifting, and we really got after it the last month. So this practice went well. You know, football’s a tough sport, and I’m looking forward to getting back in shape, but I’m ready to go.”
Hendrickson has been one of the most prolific players in the sport, amassing a league-leading 35 sacks over the past two seasons.
He gets a chance to post another 17.5 sacks in the next few months, with a decent amount of lead-up time entering the season. Hendrickson has five more practices to get his conditioning up to speed. He noted this week wasn’t a deadline, it all remained in Cincinnati’s hands to bring him an adequate deal that helps him continue “to play at a high level for a long time.”
“With the salaries going up and the tag also will be going up, it’s not something that I’m concerned about,” Hendrickson said about possibly getting franchise tagged next offseason. “I have to focus on what the 2025 Bengals means to me, and I want to be a part of something special here. I vocalized that pretty early and often. Again, I can’t write my own contracts. I think we’d all as players love to do that. There wasn’t one that I saw long term that I would have considered. So again, this compromise comes with a great amount of respect for me towards them. I’m incredibly honored and appreciative that I can play football at this level.”
Cincinnati now has no major contract issues bleeding into the first week of the regular season for the first time in years.
Check out the full extended session with Hendrickson below:
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