Trey Hendrickson takes matters into his own hands, and his future with the Bengals is now anyone’s guess
Trey Hendrickson is set to undergo surgery that would effectively end his 2025 season.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson will undergo core muscle surgery that could sideline him for another six weeks, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Hendrickson suffered a hip injury all the way back in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers. He missed the remainder of that contest and Week 7’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers a few days later. He returned for Week 8 against the New York Jets, but aggravated the injury and has been out ever since.
Another six weeks from this week would take us into the second half of January. Should the Bengals miss the playoffs, which has a 97% chance of occurring, this surgery is going to end Hendrickson’s season.
And, potentially, his time in Cincinnati altogether.
Trey Hendrickson may’ve already played his last game with the Bengals
Hendrickson’s injury was originally thought to be a short-term setback. He was fighting to play on Thursday Night Football not even a full week after first going down. He was able to play just 14 days after initially suffering the ailment, but the risking of aggravating it proved to be too much.
Fast forward over a month later, and he’s now out for the year. Any chance of returning for this season has been eliminated with this surgery.
The only way Hendrickson will wear a Bengals uniform again is if the club re-signs him or places the franchise tag on him in the upcoming offseason. The latter was thought to be the plan after details of his pay raise for this season were unveiled, revealing a void year that limits how much cap space Cincinnati is sacrificing for this season. This in turn lowered what the cost of placing the tag on the now 31-year old pass-rusher, making it a viable option in the offseason.
This was all before Hendrickson only played seven games this season and suffered what is now a season-ending injury. The value of tagging him doesn’t look the same anymore, and the odds of the Bengals competing for his services on the open market were already slim at best.
Hendrickson may not have been able to play at 100% for the rest of the year regardless of opting for surgery. Aggravating the injury in Week 8 may’ve sealed his fate right then and there. His decision now seals the deal, and it could be his last he makes as a member of the roster.