For years, the Cincinnati Bengals have refused to give major extensions to three of their star players: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. Higgins has now been franchise-tagged in back-to-back seasons while Chase is set to play out his fifth-year option before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2026.
So what’s happening on the Hendrickson front? Well, the defensive end requested a trade in the 2024 offseason before the Bengals gave him a short-term contract adjustment to have him return to the team. The following season, Hendrickson not only played up to his contract standard but actually led the NFL in sacks with 17 last year.