Bengals signing DE Trey Hendrickson, per report

The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to terms with New Orleans Saints free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The deal is for four years and $60 million.

Per NFL insider Josina Anderson, Hendrickson will take him a $10m signing bonus and is set to earn roster bonuses after each of the first three years of the deal.

For this year, Hendrickson’s $6m roster bonus, $3.8m base salary, one-fourth of his $10m signing bonus, and $200K in per-game roster bonuses all equate to his 2021 cap hit of $12.5m. In total cash, Hendrickson will take home $20m for this year. As Pelissero reported, Hendrickson will earn a total of $32m through the first two years.

Hendrickson, originally a third-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, was a rotational player during his first three years for the Saints, much like how Carl Lawson was for the Bengals in that same timeframe. He played a combined 957 snaps for New Orleans’ defense from 2017-2019.

Last year, Hendrickson became a starter for the first time and put together his best year yet. He finished the season with 13.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 15 games played and started. Per Pro Football Focus, Hendrickson finished the year with the third-highest pass rushing productivity rating (9.2) amongst 55 edge rushers that rushed the passer at least 300 times.

This is a big contract for a player with just one year of real productivity, but it also doesn’t feature a lot of true guaranteed money and the Bengals can get out of it very easily after just two years. If Hendrickson continues to ascend as a player, the Bengals will reap the value of the deal.

It’s safe to assume the Bengals offered Carl Lawson a similar deal, but the main difference is in the guarantees. Lawson was not going to accept a deal with $20m less guaranteed money than the one he was offered by the Jets.

What do you think of the Bengals signing Hendrickson to a long-term deal? Let us know in the comments!