Bengals make official decision on Trey Hendrickson as NFL trade deadline comes and goes
Cincinnati made just one trade before the deadline.
The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and the Cincinnati Bengals have held on to defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
Hendrickson has been the subject of trade rumors going all the way back to before the 2025 league year began in March. Cincinnati has remained steadfast in keeping Hendrickson on its roster.
That resolve persisted Tuesday, as Hendrickson is now locked in on the Bengals’ roster until the 2026 offseason.
Why the Bengals did not trade Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson had the most value out of any player Cincinnati could’ve feasibly traded away. He remains the best player on the team’s maligned defense, though he’s hardly played since suffering a hip injury in Week 6. He’s posted four sacks and 11 tackles in seven games played this year.
The Bengals did not want to let Hendrickson go without getting the value they’ve desired for the last eight months. The asking price has been a first-round pick for most, if not all, of that time, and clearly, no interested club wanted to accept it.
Teams have called for Hendrickson, like the Indianapolis Colts, but the offers still weren’t enough to get the decision-makers inside Paycor Stadium to budge.
Cincinnati has dropped its last two games and is now 3-6, and keeping Hendrickson supports the notion that the club is not giving up on this year. Zac Taylor affirmed to reporters Monday that he would not be making any coaching changes during the bye week, and now that the defense will keep its star captain, defensive coordinator Al Golden will get a fair shot at salvaging his side of the ball for the final eight games.
Linebacker Logan Wilson was traded Tuesday morning, but Wilson had already been benched and requested a trade last month. Hendrickson will return as a starter once his hip injury heals.
The Bengals can place a second franchise tag on Hendrickson in the offseason, and in doing so, the window for trading him would open up again.
This story was originally published in A to Z Sports Cincinnati Bengals, as Bengals make official decision on Trey Hendrickson as NFL trade deadline comes and goes.
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