Surgery Ends Hendrickson's Complicated Season
It was an open secret, now it's official: Trey Hendrickson won't play again this season. The Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher underwent core muscle surgery this week, a procedure requiring at least six weeks of recovery. Unless the Bengals pull off a miracle run to the Super Bowl—which seems wildly unlikely given their current situation—Hendrickson's 2024 campaign is finished.
The Bengals didn't hesitate placing their star edge rusher on injured reserve, officially ending a season that's been a disaster on multiple levels. Hendrickson lost a year of his prime. The Bengals lost far more than that.
The Contract Saga That Never Ended Well
Trey Hendrickson's contract situation has been a media circus for over a year. Entering the final year of his deal in 2024, he waited patiently for a contract extension while finishing the previous season leading the entire league in sacks. When Cincinnati didn't move quickly enough, Hendrickson went through the predictable motions—holdouts, trade requests, public frustration.
The Bengals couldn't find a trade partner willing to meet their asking price and wanted to compete for a championship, so they eventually found a compromise: a one-year salary reduction that kept Hendrickson in Cincinnati while postponing the bigger contract decision.
That compromise just blew up in everyone's face.
How Everything Fell Apart
This wasn't just Hendrickson's failure or the Bengals' mismanagement—it was a perfect storm of bad luck and poor timing. Cincinnati lost quarterback Joe Burrow for multiple weeks, torpedoing their playoff hopes before December even started. Now they've lost Hendrickson for the rest of the season, eliminating any chance of a late defensive surge rescuing their campaign.
Hendrickson played only seven games this season, last appearing on October 26th. For a player who led the NFL in sacks the previous year, that's a catastrophic loss of production. For a team that needed him desperately on the edge, it's season-defining.
The Trade That Never Happened
Here's where Cincinnati's decision-making looks particularly questionable. Even before the trade deadline, when the Bengals' playoff hopes were fading and Hendrickson's contract status remained unresolved, they didn't move him. They could have extracted multiple draft picks—potentially high ones—from a contender desperate for pass rush help.
Instead, they held on, hoping to salvage their season while betting Hendrickson would stay healthy and productive. Neither happened. Now they get nothing. No playoff run, no compensation, no future draft capital to show for losing one of the league's premier edge rushers.
Teams offered packages. Cincinnati said no. Now Hendrickson's headed for free agency, and the Bengals are left with nothing but regret and what-if scenarios.
Hendrickson's Future in Cincinnati
Trey Hendrickson is a free agent after this season, and there's almost no chance he returns to Cincinnati. The relationship soured over contract negotiations. The season ended in mutual disappointment. And most importantly, Hendrickson will have better offers from teams with clearer championship windows and organizations that prioritize paying their stars.
He's 30 years old—still in his prime for a pass rusher—and coming off a season where he led the league in sacks. Even with this injury-shortened 2024 campaign, he'll command significant money on the open market. Teams desperate for edge rush production will line up with lucrative multi-year deals.
Cincinnati could try making a last-ditch effort to retain him, but why would Hendrickson accept? He waited for an extension that never came, took a pay cut to help the team compete, then watched the season collapse around him. There's no trust left, no reason to believe the Bengals will suddenly become aggressive in negotiations.
What This Means for Cincinnati's Defense
Losing Hendrickson for the stretch run devastates Cincinnati's already struggling defense. Their pass rush disappears without him. Opposing quarterbacks get clean pockets. The secondary, which relies on pressure to limit coverage time, gets exposed repeatedly.
The Bengals needed Hendrickson to have any shot at a late-season playoff push. Without Burrow for several weeks and now without their best defensive player, they're playing out the string. Games become about evaluation, about seeing which young players can contribute, about planning for 2025.
That's not what anyone expected when the season started. Cincinnati looked like a legitimate AFC contender. Burrow was healthy, Hendrickson was dominant, the roster had championship pieces. Then injuries happened, contract drama lingered, and everything fell apart.
The Bengals' Brutal Reality
This season represents a massive missed opportunity for Cincinnati. They had a franchise quarterback in his prime, a defensive star leading the league in sacks, and a roster talented enough to compete for a Super Bowl. Instead, they're finishing with a losing record, no playoff appearance, and watching their best pass rusher walk away for nothing in free agency.
The front office's decision not to trade Hendrickson looks worse by the day. They could have rebuilt draft capital, restocked for the future, and admitted the season wasn't salvageable. Instead, they clung to hope until it was too late.
Trey Hendrickson lost a year of his prime to injury. The Bengals lost far more, a playoff run, their best defender, and any return on investment for a star they'll never see in orange and black again.