“Still unhappy” Joe Burrow will get involved in Trey Hendrickson’s negotiation, Mike Florio expects
Joe Burrow is the biggest star on the Cincinnati Bengals' offense and Trey Hendrickson is the biggest star on the team's defense. With the offense now taken care of, the NFL zeitgeist has turned its attention to the pass rusher with the most sacks in 2024.
Hendrickson is heading into the last year of his deal, and negotiations have been far from speedy. Speaking on Thursday's edition of "Pro Football Talk," NFL analyst Mike Florio claimed that not only did they not do enough on offense to make Burrow happy, but they're also going to force the quarterback to get involved on pressuring the team to give a deal to Hendrickson.
"They took advantage of Tee Higgins," Florio said. "I believe they placated Ja'Marr Chase by allowing him to say, 'Hey, I'm making 40.25 million.' I'm the highest-paid non-quarterback. But you know what, [there's] a phony baloney back end year on that deal. If I'm Burrow, I'm going to look at those contracts and say, 'yeah, you signed these guys, but man each one of them did you a favor here.'"
"I think at some point, Burrow will -- not necessarily publicly -- he'll privately remind them that he's still not happy, even though they think he should be happy, and tell them they got to get this [Hendrickson deal] done," Florio added. "And I think once he starts putting pressure on them again, they'll get something done."
Hendrickson logged 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons and led the league in sacks in 2024, finishing with 3.5 more than Myles Garrett in second place.
Exploring Bengals' options with Trey Hendrickson
Joe Burrow wants things to be easier on his end, which means the Bengals needed to make moves to keep the pieces around him. However, Trey Hendrickson is heading into the last year of his deal and could be marching into holdout territory as the Bengals continue to drag their feet.
However, for the Bengals' side of things, they have two options. They can try to drag out negotiations throughout the season and use a franchise tag on him after the 2025 season. However, that risks incurring the wrath of Joe Burrow.
On the other hand, they could simply pay Hendrickson and agree to take on the risks of paying a pass rusher over the age of 30 and pray that he doesn't decline.
The first option is pro-Bengals, while the second is pro-Burrow and Hendrickson. It doesn't appear there is a middle ground that can keep both sides happy. The Bengals will be forced to choose. Could negotiations turn into a holdout for Bengals star Hendrickson?
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Pro Football Talk," and H/T Sportskeeda.