The Bengals have had a busy offseason, as they handed receiver Tee Higgins a contract worth just under $30 million a year while Ja'Marr Chase surpassed Myles Garrett as the highest-paid non-quarterback, making $40.25 million a season. They haven't had the same success on the defensive front, as star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart are both in contract holdouts as the beginning of training camp nears.
Cincinnati's defense was the clear Achilles heel of the team in 2024, as they had six losses last year when they scored 25 or more points. They finished 26th in pass rush grade per PFF and 19th in pressure rate even with Hendrickson. It's hard to imagine how they get to the quarterback without Hendrickson.
Bengals heading into training camp without new deal for Trey Hendrickson
With Maxx Crosby, Nick Bosa, Danielle Hunter, and Myles Garrett all getting deals in the $34-$40 million per year range, Hendrickson feels he belongs somewhere close to that amount. Despite finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024, Hendrickson is only due a base salary of $15,800,000 in 2025, less than half of the top of this position. It's completely reasonable that he wants a significant raise, but the Bengals don't typically hand out big contracts on long-term deals to players in their 30s.
Read More: Bengals star says Denzel Ward is easily his toughest matchup
CBS Sports' John Breech outlined all of this in an article and also pointed out the pending extensions of T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons that will only further complicate the negotiations. He thinks both sides should feel an urgency to come to an agreement, due to the pending Stewart holdout and the unlikelihood that Hendrickson would be willing to sit out games.
With Joe Burrow, Higgins, and Chase locked up, the Bengals are almost guaranteed to have one of the best offenses in the NFL next year. However, their defense will need to be at least league average if they want to make noise this year. The roster isn't incredible on paper as it is, and it only gets worse without Hendrickson and/or Stewart. Although the Bengals are focusing on faster regular-season starts this camp, it might not matter if they don't handle the contract holdouts.