The Bengals just keep outdoing themselves when it comes to frustrating Joe Burrow.

Cincinnati Bengals v Washington Commanders – NFL Preseason 2025 | Greg Fiume/GettyImages

At long last, the Trey Hendrickson saga has come to an end. The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a contract with the edge rusher, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, ending his holdout and giving the Bengals a puncher’s chance of having a somewhat passable defense.

Bengals fans had every reason to be thrilled when the first tweet was sent out, but with the contract details now revealed, the fan base and Joe Burrow shouldn’t be quite as happy.
Hendrickson is set to receive a $14 million raise for this season, but that’s it.

He got enough money to give him enough motivation to play this season, but the reality of this situation is that he’s still set to hit free agency at the end of the year. Yes, this is a huge deal for 2025, but what about beyond?

Joe Burrow is still suck with unfortunate Bengals reality after Trey Hendrickson extension

Burrow is still stuck with the unfortunate reality that this defense is nothing but a mess long-term.

Again, having Hendrickson back will help this season, and perhaps Shemar Stewart will become a star defensive player, but even with those two playmakers in town, this defense is below-average if not straight up bad.

Without Hendrickson, it looks like a straight-up nightmare.

The defense could be somewhat fine this season, but what does this do for the future? The Bengals have Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins locked in on long-term deals through the 2028 season, which is great, but what good is it having those guys if the defense isn’t going to be competitive enough?

Last season, the Bengals led the league in passing yards and ranked sixth in points per game, yet they missed the playoffs.

They were the only team of the top 11 scoring offenses to miss the playoffs. This was their reality with Hendrickson. Imagine how things will go without him.

Again, it’s good to have him back for 2025, but the Bengals aren’t exactly a Super Bowl contender even with him in the mix.

Beyond this season, the future looks bleak. Their refusal to come to any sort of decision regarding Hendrickson’s future will prove to be costly.

Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson indecision will cost them

No, bringing Hendrickson back for 2025 wasn’t an example of the Bengals being decisive, in fact, it was anything but. The Bengals did not commit to life with or without Hendrickson by doing this.

What the Bengals should’ve done was extend Hendrickson on a long-term deal. Sure, he’s 30 years of age and might not lead the league in sacks again, but who cares?

He’s still an elite player, and figures to be for at least a couple of years. This Bengals team doesn’t stand a chance defensively without him, and if they won’t pay him, chances are, they won’t pay up for a worthwhile replacement either.

If they didn’t want to pay him, they could’ve traded him. Their asking price was insane, suggesting they weren’t actually serious about parting with him, but the Bengals could’ve at the very least gotten premium draft capital or a young defensive player to build around. Joe Burrow wouldn’t have liked that outcome, but trading him could’ve given the Bengals some sense of clarity while also helping them build for the future.

The Bengals did neither, allowing Hendrickson to play out this season on a team that isn’t going to win the Super Bowl and then almost certainly wear another uniform next season.

The Bengals might win an extra game or two this season by making this deal, but they won’t win enough to satisfy Burrow. What’s to come beyond this season will only make the Bengals’ gunslinger even more frustrated.