Trey Hendrickson franchise tag? NFL insider reports Bengals are leaning one way more than the other
Cincinnati could surprise plenty of teams this week.
The Cincinnati Bengals have until Mar. 3 at 4:00 p.m. ET to place the franchise tag on defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Odds are looking like Hendrickson will not be tagged, according to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler.
“The sense at the end of the week is that Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) and Odafe Oweh (Chargers) will probably not be franchise-tagged. That could change over the next 48 hours, but Oweh has not received any indication that he will be tagged, and most around the league would be surprised if the Bengals tag Hendrickson.” — ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler
Reports regarding the tag and Hendrickson have been all over the place over the past month, and Cincinnati didn’t make its intentions with the 31-year old any clearer this past week at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
What was said on the matter, however, does support Fowler’s report.
Bengals sound ready to completely let go of Trey Hendrickson
The Bengals were going to use the combine to gauge whether or not there was a trade market for Hendrickson in the event he was tagged. The closer the tag deadline becomes without the tag being used, the more likely the tag won’t be used to conduct a tag-and-trade. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin didn’t want to discuss any of that with reporters during his combine podium session.
“I don’t throw anything on or off the table with Trey,” Tobin said Tuesday in Indianapolis. “We’re excited about attacking this offseason. We have resources to attack the offseason in a big way, and we want to do that. In terms of how we’re going to do that, how we’re going to allocate our resources, who is it going to be on our own free agents? What’s our intentions there? I’m not going to get into that right here. It’s just not the time to announce that to the rest of the league.”
Hendrickson was only one of several players asked about at the combine, and some of them have either already been tagged or will be tagged such as Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce, and New York Jets running back Breece Hall.
There was opportunity to affirm plans with Hendrickson, and Tobin’s answer signals the four-time Pro Bowler’s fate is far more unknown than others in his position.
This alone is why it makes sense for other teams to believe a tag isn’t on the way, but then when Tobin highlights the difficulty of a tag-and-trade, the concept becomes even harder to believe it will materialize.
“All trades are difficult,” Tobin said after his podium session. “You gotta find a partner, you have to find somebody. You have to have some cooperation with your players that you’re talking about this with. Trades can be complicated, and that hypothetical scenario would be very complicated.”
Cincinnati doesn’t fare well with complicated. Its own free agency period last year was derailed thanks to internal negotiations with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on top of Hendrickson requesting a trade.
If Hendrickson gets tagged and the Bengals can’t find trade compensation they want before other top EDGEs are signed off the market, they’d be stuck with him and his $30.2 million salary cap hit. Letting the tag deadline come and go is an admission Cincinnati can’t find a trade market it desires, and will let the 2024 All-Pro walk in free agency.
Hendrickson and Oweh are the best EDGE players set to hit free agency this month, and their presence on the market would make an already deep class even better for interested clubs. The Bengals will also be one of those franchises in the market for a new DE to replace Hendrickson.
Tuesday afternoon will confirm Hendrickson’s fate, and whether or not the rest of the league will be surprised.
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