The Cincinnati Bengals quietly have a problem brewing with star defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
While the spotlight shines on possible extensions for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Bengals are one offseason removed from Hendrickson’s trade request over dissatisfaction with his contact.
Justified frustration or not, Hendrickson erupted to an NFL-best 17.5 sacks this season, likely upping his extension demands this offseason.
That topic came up this week at the Senior Bowl with Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin.
“Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension … he has,” Tobin said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway. “We’re cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is, is what is to be determined.”
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That last part of the quote caused a ruckus amongst fans on social media, as Tobin hinting player and team might not see eye to eye on the contract talks seemed concerning.
Realistically, it feels like Tobin was going for blunt honestly, which should probably be applauded.
More concerning? One could view it as Tobin passing the ball to the front office. He’s the scouting guy — not a member of the brass in the front office responsible for doing the contracts and writing the checks.
In other words, Tobin agrees Hendrickson deserves a pay raise. What the front office decides that looks like for a 30-year-old veteran, though, could have a pretty big impact on Tobin’s roster-building process, to put it bluntly.
