The Cincinnati Bengals trading Trey Hendrickon was never going to be easy.
Those Bengals like winning trades for star players in lopsided fashion and the team acquiring Hendrickson would need to not only match that price, but then pay the All-Pro defender what he wants on a contract extension.
No easy ask, hence Ari Meirov’s latest appearance on “NFL Spotlight” suggesting that the list of possible trade partners for the Bengals continues to nosedive.
“The teams that would be interested in Trey Hendrickson is kind of dwindling, Meirov said. “There’s three pieces to tango here. There’s getting a team that wants Trey, a team that’s willing to pay Trey the money he wants, and a team willing to pay the Bengals what they want, which is believed to be a first-round pick, and more.”
Meirov mentioned the Buffalo Bills as a possible spot but that never seemed realistic given the rivalry there in the AFC. Those Bills just signed Joey Bosa.
A team in the NFC might make more sense, but as Meirov notes, a suitor like the Washington Commanders has already sacrificed draft picks in other deals. Unless someone in the NFC near the end of the first round like the Detroit Lions emerges, it’s hard to see a deal happening.
As expected, now that Hendrickson’s agent has found proof that teams will at least pay Hendrickson the contract but won’t meet the Bengals’ asking price, it’s hard to say what happens next. The Bengals granted permission to seek the trade and now have to either pay up on the price the market agrees on, or dig in for more summer drama.
Given that Meirov notes that the two sides weren’t close, which prompted the trade request in the first place, this could drag out for quite a while again.
