betflikth99 Bengals owner insists Hendrickson wants to stay

betflikth99 Tigers owner Mike Brown (left) is optimistic Trey Hendriksen will work out a new deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown has confirmed he hopes to see Trey Hendrickson stay with the Bengals amid a contract dispute with the 30-year-old defensive end, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.  betflikth99

Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract and the 30-year-old defensive end has insisted he will not play in the 2025 season under his current deal, seeking a long-term deal to ensure stability, but talks have stalled so far. 

“The negotiations have been going on for a long time. Trey Hendrickson is a great player. He’s a good guy. We want him here,” Brown said. “Sometimes it’s not easy to negotiate with him, and that’s okay. He’s entitled to his arguments. We’re going to try to understand it from our perspective. We’ll see. I’m not sure it’s not going to happen. To me, the sooner it happens the better.”

Asked if he thought Hendrickson deserved a raise, Brown said: ‘We offered him a year, but remember, Trey signed with the team last season. It’s kind of silly of us to offer him a year, but he deserves a raise. He’s been playing well and he’s been playing well. He’s important to us.’

Hendrickson leads the NFL in sacks with 17.5 and quarterback pressures with 92 in 2024. He has 35 combined sacks since 2023, becoming one of only five players to have two consecutive seasons with 17 or more sacks since 1982, joining Reggie White, Richard Dent, J.J. Watt and Marc Gastineau.

The contract extensions, with average annual salaries of at least $40 million, of Myles Garrett with the Cleveland Browns and T.J. Watt with the Pittsburgh Steelers, have put more pressure on the Bengals, particularly to find a suitable compensation for Hendrickson’s performance. ( betflikth99 )