season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-rumors-insider-reveals-2-hang-ups-trey-hendrickson-trade-talks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bengals rumors: Insider reveals 2 hang-ups in Trey Hendrickson trade talks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bengals-rumors-Insider-reveals-2-hang-ups-in-Trey-Hendrickson-trade-talks.jpg"></figure><h1>Bengals rumors: Insider reveals 2 hang-ups in Trey Hendrickson trade talks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T17:47:03-07:00">April 2nd, 5:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T17:47:03-07:00">April 2nd, 5:47pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/nfl-rumors-insider-shares-update-bengals-plans-trey-hendrickson">Bengals have yet to reach a deal with Trey Hendrickson</a> after signing both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to huge contracts. It’s unclear how the situation will pan out, as the front office did give the 30-year-old edge rusher permission to seek a trade. However, rumors suggest that there are two reasons why the Bengals have yet to trade Hendrickson.</p><p>During a segment on “The Insiders” Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network shared <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1907574018439360954" rel="noopener">two possible reasons</a> why a trade hasn’t come to fruition yet. He claims the Bengals are asking for a first-round pick in return, which could be viewed as too much value for opposing franchises to give up. He also revealed that the front office does not want to trade Hendrickson at this time.</p><p>“The Bengals are gonna demand a lot, probably even a first-round draft pick to trade Trey Hendrickson. That deal has not come about. They have tried, plenty of people have talked, [and] there’s been for sure interest, that trade has not happened yet, in part because the Bengals don’t really want to trade him.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">From The Insiders on <a href="https://twitter.com/nflnetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLNetwork</a>: Making sense of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bengals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bengals</a> drama, after Katie Blackburn spoke to local reporters and Trey Hendrickson responded on <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PatMcAfeeShow</a> about his contract situation. <a href="https://t.co/gv5sJ27z16">pic.twitter.com/gv5sJ27z16</a></p><p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1907574018439360954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Trade rumors regarding Hendrickson and the Bengals have been kept quiet, as there are virtually no reports of any teams making any strong offers. Rapoport’s claim about Cincinnati’s trade demands likely holds, as most teams in the league are likely wanting to keep their draft picks at this point. The NFL Draft takes place in late April and teams are still finalizing their draft boards.</p><p>Bengals Vice President Katie Blackburn recently made some comments about the contract negotiations that rubbed the 2024 sack leader the wrong way. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-trey-hendrickson-calls-out-poor-communication-amid-contract-extension-talks">Trey Hendrickson voiced frustrations</a> about the organization during a guest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday. Hendrickson was critical of Cincinnati’s “poor communication” and felt “disappointed” in Blackburn’s comments.</p><p>Hendrickson put up career numbers for the Bengals last season and proved to be one of the more dominant edge rushers in the league. He finished the 2024 campaign with 46 combined tackles (33 solo), 36 quarterback hits, 17.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.</p><p>The rumor mill will likely remain hot throughout the offseason until the Bengals either trade Trey Hendrickson or give him the contract he desires.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bengals rumors: Insider reveals 2 hang-ups in Trey Hendrickson trade talks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/grading-espns-lions-bengals-trey-hendrickson-trade-proposal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grading ESPN’s Lions-Bengals Trey Hendrickson trade proposal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Grading-ESPNs-Lions-Bengals-Trey-Hendrickson-trade-proposal.jpg"></figure><h1>Grading ESPN’s Lions-Bengals Trey Hendrickson trade proposal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T13:50:24-07:00">April 2nd, 1:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T15:00:31-07:00">April 2nd, 3:00pm</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Lions are in their greatest moment in franchise history. Detroit is one of the most historically downtrodden teams in the NFL. However, they have taken on new life under <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-goes-full-football-guy-true-alpha-bit">head coach Dan Campbell</a> and GM Brad Holmes. Now, they are one of the best teams in the NFC and legitimate Super Bowl contenders.</p><p>Detroit had one of their best seasons in franchise history in 2024. The Lions won 15 games, logged their second consecutive NFC North title, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-put-on-super-bowl-worthy-performance-in-huge-win-over-vikings">secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs</a>. All of these are franchise firsts for Detroit.</p><p>Now the Lions must reload their roster so they can make another deep playoff run during the 2025 season.</p><p>Defensive injuries were Detroit’s biggest issue in 2024. They could <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-can-build-an-entire-defense-off-injured-players">assemble a whole defensive unit</a> built from players who headed to injured reserve last season.</p><p>Losing Aidan Hutchinson for the season was the biggest blow of them all. Taking Hutch out of the lineup revealed how much the Lions depend on a star pass rusher.</p><p>Naturally, many Lions fans want to add another elite pass rusher to pair with Hutchinson in the future. There is one such player, Cincinnati’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-trey-hendrickson-permission-seek-trade">Trey Hendrickson, who has already been permitted to seek a trade</a>.</p><p>But could the Lions actually acquire him?</p><p>Below we will explore <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2025/story/_/id/44427621/2025-nfl-mock-draft-all-trades-deals-32-round-1-picks-players-parsons-cousins" rel="noopener">ESPN’s trade proposal</a> that would send Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Lions.</p><h2><b>Bill Barnwell suggests Lions give up first-round pick to acquire Trey Hendrickson</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Trey-Hendrickson-on-Jan.-4-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Greene/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Before we dive into the analysis, here are the terms of Bill Barnwell’s trade proposal.</p><p><b>Lions receive: </b></p><ul><li>DE Trey Hendrickson</li><li>2025 second-round pick (49th overall)</li></ul><p><b>Bengals receive: </b></p><ul><li>2025 first-round pick (28th overall)</li><li>2025 fourth-round pick (130th overall)</li></ul><p>It should go without saying that there is one hidden cost to this trade.</p><p>In addition to the above terms, the Lions would be on the hook to sign Hendrickson to a massive contract extension. After all, the only reason why Hendrickson is on the trade block in the first place is because of his salary demands.</p><p>According to Spotrac, Hendrickson could command <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/market-value/_/id/21845/trey-hendrickson" rel="noopener">roughly $31.5 million per season</a> on the open market. The Lions may end up having to pay north of this to get a deal done. Barnwell suggests Hendrickson may be worth $35 million per season.</p><p>Even with that cost factored in, this could be an incredible move by Detroit.</p><p>Lions GM Brad Holmes has done an excellent job of building the team through the draft. That is what makes it so scary to think about giving up significant draft capital to acquire a player who demands a big contract.</p><p>However, Barnwell explains that Detroit is in a position to make this move. They have enough players on rookie contracts to offset Hendrickson’s contract demands.</p><p>“General manager Brad Holmes has generally done excellent work in the draft, but making an all-in move for Hendrickson is a reward for years of building things up the right way,” Barnwell noted. “If the Lions want to shift their defensive philosophy after losing coordinator Aaron Glenn to the Jets, Hendrickson would give them the ability to rush four more often without needing to rely on blitzes.”</p><p>The Lions also only lose out on one draft pick in this trade. They will still have two second-round picks to work with, as well as their late-round selections.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Bengals would gain another first-round pick to help rebuild their defense.</p><p>“Bengals fans won’t want to see Hendrickson leave, but he is reportedly willing to sit out games in 2025 without a new deal, and they won’t want to see a repeat of the Carson Palmer situation,” Barnwell wrote. “This would value Hendrickson as a second-round pick, albeit one of the very last selections (61st pick). De facto general manager Duke Tobin would have two first-round picks to add defensive help, with Cincinnati jumping ahead of the Commanders and Eagles for edge-rushing options.”</p><p>The 2025 draft class is full to the brim with talented edge rushers. Bengals fans may not like the idea of giving up Hendrickson after back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons. That said, he could easily be replaced in the aggregate. Adding multiple talented players may even be the smart move for an ailing Cincinnati defense.</p><p>Ultimately, I cannot help but give this trade an A for the Lions. Elite pass rushers are incredibly hard to come by in the NFL. Hendrickson may be on the older side, but he could give the Lions at least three seasons of elite play next to Aidan Hutchinson.</p><p>In my opinion, that is well worth the cost of a late first-round pick.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grading ESPN’s Lions-Bengals Trey Hendrickson trade proposal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-trey-hendrickson-calls-out-poor-communication-amid-contract-extension-talks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Trey Hendrickson calls out Bengals ‘poor communication’ amid contract extension talks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trey-Hendrickson-calls-out-Cincinnatis-poor-communication-amid-contract-extension-talks.jpg"></figure><h1>Trey Hendrickson calls out Bengals ‘poor communication’ amid contract extension talks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T11:52:18-07:00">April 2nd, 11:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-03T09:32:01-07:00">April 3rd, 9:32am</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After finalizing contract extensions for wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Cincinnati <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-rumors-trey-hendrickson-trade-dead-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-deals">Bengals have yet to reach a deal</a> with Trey Hendrickson. The 30-year-old edge rusher is due to become a free agent after the 2025 season and wants to secure a long-term contract well before then.</p><p>Hendrickson made a guest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday morning <a href="https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1907486583936209320" rel="noopener">where he called out</a> the Bengals’ front office. He claimed that there’s been “poor communication” from the franchise and stated that he’s grown frustrated over the negotiation process.</p><p>“When I say that communication has been poor I mean that it’s been here and there.. We don’t have any desire to be the highest paid and we’ve tried to be as patient as possible.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"When I say that communication has been poor I mean that it's been here and there..</p><p>We don't have any desire to be the highest paid and we've tried to be as patient as possible"</p><p>Trey Hendrickson <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/SMzJL6gWFD">https://t.co/SMzJL6gWFD</a> <a href="https://t.co/p53eUYt7TJ">pic.twitter.com/p53eUYt7TJ</a></p><p>— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1907486583936209320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bengals’ executive vice president Katie Blackburn recently <a href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2025/04/01/why-bengals-allowed-trey-hendrickson-seek-trade/82765420007/" rel="noopener">opened up about the contract extension talks</a> with Trey Hendrickson. Blackburn stated that the organization believes they’ve offered the star edge rusher a competitive offer and that Hendrickson “should be happy at certain rates,” per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.</p><p>“I think he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at,” Blackburn said. “I think some of it is on him to be happy at some point, and if he’s not, you know, that’s what holds it up sometimes. So, you know, it takes him to say yes to something, and also, we have all the respect in the world for him. He’s been a great player. We’re happy to have him. And so maybe we’ll find a way to get something to work. We’re just gonna see where it goes.”</p><p>Trey Hendrickson <a href="https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1907485781498658872" rel="noopener">responded to that statement</a> during his guest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” as well. The four-time Pro Bowler stated that he was “disappointed” in Blackburn’s comments.</p><p>“Those comments from Katie Blackburn were definitely disappointing &amp; communication has been poor over the last couple of months… It’s been a little bit frustrating and if they have anything they’d like to discuss we’re definitely willing to listen.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Those comments from Katie Blackburn were definitely disappointing &amp; communication has been poor over the last couple of months..  </p><p>It's been a little bit frustrating &amp; if they have anything they'd like to discuss we're definitely willing to listen" ~ Trey Hendrickson <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/C9PUdfKewj">pic.twitter.com/C9PUdfKewj</a></p><p>— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1907485781498658872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Hendrickson experienced a career year last season after leading the league in sacks. He ended the 2024 campaign with a career-high 46 combined tackles (33 solo), 36 quarterback hits, 17.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/nfl-rumors-insider-shares-update-bengals-plans-trey-hendrickson">Trey Hendrickson came second</a> in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, losing to Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Trey Hendrickson calls out Bengals ‘poor communication’ amid contract extension talks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-7-round-2025-nfl-mock-draft-pff-simulator');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bengals 7-round 2025 NFL mock draft, per PFF simulator');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cincinnati-Bengals-7-round-2025-NFL-mock-draft-per-PFF-simulator.jpg"></figure><h1>Bengals 7-round 2025 NFL mock draft, per PFF simulator</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T18:18:34-07:00">March 31st, 6:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T18:21:54-07:00">March 31st, 6:21pm</time><address><a href="https://matthew516sports.substack.com/">Douglas Fritz</a>Douglas Fritz has been writing about sports for almost four decades and publishes a Christian sports newsletter and podcast on Substack at Matthew516Sports. He started as a reporter for the student newspaper at East Tennessee State University, worked his way up to Editor-In-Chief, and began his sports writing career at the Johnson City Press daily newspaper while still in college. During 30-plus years at the Press, he covered University of Tennessee football, men's and women's basketball, ETSU athletics, and high school athletics. Among the people he has interviewed are Dale Murphy, Bobby Cox, John Smoltz, and Bruce Smith. He is also a Christian-based screenwriter (five feature-length and one short), book writer (three completed manuscripts and one novel), and songwriter.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s a knee-deep <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-zac-taylor-sends-patient-trey-hendrickson-message">mess for the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson</a>, despite the coach’s message. And the Bengals still <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-zac-taylor-sends-patient-trey-hendrickson-message">need to shake up the defensive roster.</a> To help with that, here is a <a href="https://www.pff.com/draft/nfl-mock-draft-simulator?ref=a0678e62-53bf-4942-a75b-1d11064bb4e9" rel="noopener">seven-round 2025</a> NFL mock draft, according to the Pro Football Focus simulator.</p><p>The Bengals barely missed the playoffs last season despite putting together a tremendous offensive season. So it should come as no surprise that two of the team’s glaring needs come on the defensive side of the ball. They need help on the defensive line and linebacker while also needing to shore up the offensive line at the guard position.</p><p>So what did the PFF simulator throw the Bengals’ way?</p><h2><b>Bengals get DT Kenneth Grant at No. 17 overall</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Michigan-defensive-tackle-Kenneth-Grant.jpg"></figure><p>It’s a good first step for the Bengals. They needed help on the defensive line and Grant has the potential to be a good one. He’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 331 pounds. That <a href="https://www.nfl.com/prospects/kenneth-grant/32004752-4145-0451-f4ca-0554158e787f" rel="noopener">frame serves him well</a>, according to nfl.com.</p><p>“Grant is a broad-bodied nose tackle whose tape can run hot and cold depending on the game and the types of blocks he’s facing,” Lance Zierlein wrote. “He struggles to anchor when hit with down blocks due to his narrow base and tall pads, but he uses his power and length to beat single blocks and split double teams when he finds the crease.</p><p>“(Grant) had some sack production in college, and we could see him improve in that area once he learns to create more rush space with his hands. Grant’s game will finally come together in full when he’s able to take his impressive physical attributes and impose his will on opponents.”</p><p>One reason the Bengals might look toward Grant in real life is how he might fit into the scheme of new defensive coordinator Al Golden. And that <a href="https://www.bengals.com/news/zac-taylor-s-designs-on-a-fast-start-anybody-in-the-league-would-be-happy-to-have-one-of-the-receivers-we-have-guard-update-quick-hits" rel="noopener">means creating havoc</a>, according to bengals.com.</p><p>“I know Al Golden has a tremendous plan having been with us, having been to college, Notre Dame was an outstanding tackling team,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of things that I’m excited to watch and I’ll do to make sure that we can continue to enhance that with our guys.”</p><h2><b>Pick No. 49 brings in a safety</b></h2><p>Again, just what the doctor ordered for the Bengals. They got Xavier Watts, a tough safety from Notre Dame who will fit into Golden’s plans as a package deal. Zierlein rated him as an eventual plus starter.</p><p>“Safety with the versatility and ball skills to make plays from a variety of alignments,” Zierlein wrote. “Watts plays with rare feel and instincts on the back-end, allowing him to range over the top in single-high or read and drive on throws as a split safety.</p><p>“He lined up over the slot at times in college, but he might not have the man-cover talent to do that as a pro. His ball skills and production are intoxicating, but his run support and tackling are quite sobering. Watts lacks pursuit discipline and fails to break down in space, leading to open-field misses and back-breaking mistakes.”</p><p>It’s a good solid second-round pick for the Bengals.</p><h2><b>Edge rusher Elijah Roberts is Round 3 pick</b></h2><p>This is the first miss for the simulator. While the Bengals can surely use an edge rusher, the SMU product doesn’t bring <a href="https://www.nfl.com/prospects/elijah-roberts/3200524f-4213-4912-d3df-666b69add8d7" rel="noopener">a lot of excitement</a> to the draft table.</p><p>“Productive base end with good play strength who continues to add weight to his frame,” Zierlein wrote. “Roberts has chalked up stats as a standing defender but isn’t athletic enough to play as a 3-4 outside ‘backer in the NFL and might not have the brutality to play inside at three-technique despite his size.”</p><h2><b>Bengals stay on defense in Round 4</b></h2><p>This is another shaky selection as cornerback Mello Dotson, a Kansas product, doesn’t have much of a ceiling. Zierlein called Dotson a candidate for the practice squad or maybe the bottom of the roster.</p><p>“Instinctive outside corner with impressive ball production,” Zierlein wrote. “Dotson has adequate NFL size and a good feel for reading routes underneath, but he struggles to stay connected if the play travels beyond the first level. He has good instincts and eyes in zone coverage. (And) he triggers on throws with efficiency and ballhawking angles to take it away. He lacks speed and could struggle making plays downfield.”</p><p>Why pick a weak cornerback here when Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton could have added depth to that already strong group? Also, linebacker Jack Kiser remained on the board. And that’s a need position.</p><h2><b>Yet another defender lands in Round 5</b></h2><p>Linebacker Kobe King out of Penn State turned out to be a great pick for this late in the draft. He projects as <a href="https://www.nfl.com/prospects/kobe-king/32004b49-4e56-4399-659a-4baa4c0de33a" rel="noopener">a potential starter</a> down the road.</p><p>“Big, productive inside linebacker who needs to play with good technique to make up for athletic and speed limitations,” Zierlein wrote. “King is best in the confines of the box, where he can play downhill and utilize his physicality. He’s good with block take-ons and can compress the runner’s workspace.”</p><h2><b>Bengals address defensive line again</b></h2><p>The final pick for the Bengals came in the form of Round 6 selection Junior Tafuna of Utah. He basically amounts to a potential roster filler.</p><p><i>Overall, the Bengals got off to a good start. But the Round 3 pick drove things in the wrong direction. Grade: B-minus.</i></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bengals 7-round 2025 NFL mock draft, per PFF simulator

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-zac-taylor-sends-patient-trey-hendrickson-message');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bengals’ Zac Taylor sends ‘patient’ Trey Hendrickson message');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bengals-news-Zac-Taylor-sends-patient-Trey-Hendrickson-message.jpg"></figure><h1>Bengals’ Zac Taylor sends ‘patient’ Trey Hendrickson message</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T08:18:15-07:00">March 31st, 8:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T08:18:15-07:00">March 31st, 8:18am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Bengals have already had quite an eventful offseason. Cincinnati handed out two <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-agree-4-year-contract-extensions">monster contract extensions to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins</a>. They also saw <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-fan-favorite-announces-retirement-release-saves-9-5-million-cap-space">veteran Sam Hubbard retire from the NFL</a>. The next shoe to drop could be a Trey Hendrickson extension.</p><p>Bengals head coach Zac Taylor <a href="https://x.com/Ben_Baby/status/1906704556555223274" rel="noopener">opened up about the situation</a> surrounding Trey Hendrickson ahead of the NFL’s Annual League Meeting.</p><p>“Trey’s been a big part of our team,” Taylor said on Monday via ESPN’s Ben Baby. “We want to work through it with him and his agent. We’ll just see where it goes.”</p><p>Taylor added that it has been a “patient communication process” between Hendrickson and the Bengals.</p><p>Hendrickson is seeking a lucrative long-term contract extension after logging back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons for the Bengals. In fact, Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks during the 2024 season.</p><p>Hendrickson is currently on the last year of his current contract, which has a <a href="https://overthecap.com/player/trey-hendrickson/5689" rel="noopener">$18.67 million cap hit in 2025</a>.</p><p>Bengals QB <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-joe-burrow-doubles-down-trey-hendrickson-contract-stance">Joe Burrow has been a vocal supporter of Trey Hendrickson</a> getting paid this offseason.</p><p>Hopefully the Bengals do whatever they can to keep Hendrickson in Cincinnati for the rest of his professional career.</p><h2><b>Trey Hendrickson trade talks ‘appear dead’ after recent Bengals extensions</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Trey-Hendrickson.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It appears that the Bengals are fully committed to retaining Trey Hendrickson this offseason.</p><p>NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-rumors-trey-hendrickson-trade-dead-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-deals">trade talks related to Hendrickson appears to have stalled</a>. This suggests that Cincinnati will focus on extending Hendrickson this offseason.</p><p>“The idea of a trade appears dead,” Schultz posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.</p><p>“The organization and ownership are fully prepared to move forward and attempt to negotiate a deal with [Hendrickson]… After talking to multiple people involved, they have now reached the conclusion that a trade is really off the table,” Schultz added.</p><p>Cincinnati previously <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-trey-hendrickson-permission-seek-trade">gave Hendrickson permission to seek a trade</a> earlier in March.</p><p>“Now it really becomes, can both sides reach a fair agreement. Can they come together and find a number that works for not only Trey but obviously the organization,” Schultz concluded.</p><p>Hendrickson should command a contract north of $30 million per season on the open market. If the Bengals do extend Hendrickson, they will have committed a ton of money to their core players.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how, and when, this situation finally resolves itself.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bengals’ Zac Taylor sends ‘patient’ Trey Hendrickson message

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/perfect-trade-cincinnati-bengals-complete-2025-nfl-free-agency-frenzy');   ga('set', 'title', 'Perfect trade Cincinnati Bengals must complete after 2025 NFL free agency frenzy');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Perfect-trade-Cincinnati-Bengals-must-complete-after-2025-NFL-free-agency-frenzy.jpg"></figure><h1>Perfect trade Cincinnati Bengals must complete after 2025 NFL free agency frenzy</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-25T19:39:09-07:00">March 25th, 7:39pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-25T19:39:09-07:00">March 25th, 7:39pm</time><address><a href="http://hoopnut.blogspot.com/">Enzo Flojo</a>Enzo Flojo is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints and a columnist for Asian basketball at FIBA. He brings a dynamic spirit and background, having expertise that spans writing, analytics, coaching, and broadcasting. He is also currently an Assistant Coach on Scouting &amp; Analytics for the Philippine national youth basketball team.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Bengals have entered the 2025 NFL offseason with a clear objective: making the most of their championship window while Joe Burrow remains in his prime. They have clinched several playoff berths over the years and <a href="https://www.espn.ph/nfl/team/depth/_/name/cin/cincinnati-bengals">a roster designed to compete</a> at the highest level, Cincinnati had to maneuver through a challenging free agency period filled with tough choices. Now, they find themselves in a position where one well-calculated trade could elevate them to the next level and solidify their standing as one of the AFC’s premier teams for the upcoming season.</p><h2>Assessing the Bengals’ 2025 Free Agency Decisions</h2><p>The Bengals’ approach to the 2025 free agency period was aggressive but necessary. Quarterback Joe Burrow took on an active role in advocating for his top two wide receivers—Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins—to remain in Cincinnati. His influence paid off. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contract-update-nfl-insider">The Bengals secured Chase</a> on a four-year, $161 million deal with $112 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/nfl-rumors-why-league-execs-surprised-bengals-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-deals">Higgins signed a four-year</a>, $115 million contract. With both receivers locked in, the Bengals’ high-powered offense remains intact. This ensures Burrow continues to have elite playmakers at his disposal.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Joe-Burrows-moment-with-JaMarr-Chase-Tee-Higgins-sparks-intense-buzz-.jpg"></figure><p>In addition to securing their offensive weapons, the Bengals made several depth signings to bolster their offensive line and secondary. However, one area that still demands attention is the linebacker unit. This is particularly true for the future of Germaine Pratt. Sure, Chase and Higgins provide a potent aerial attack. However, the defense played a significant role in Burrow missing the playoffs last season. Retaining BJ Hill was a crucial move, and the addition of Oren Burks adds depth. That said, the linebacker corps still needs improvement to make a real impact.</p><p>Here we’ll try to look at the perfect trade that the Cincinnati Bengals must complete after the 2025 NFL free agency frenzy.</p><h2>Why Trading Germaine Pratt is the Right Move</h2><p>It’s been a whirlwind offseason for the Bengals. Sure, Cincinnati managed to keep several key players in town. However, starting linebacker Germaine Pratt has requested a trade and appears poised to suit up for a new team for the first time in his NFL career.</p><p>Pratt has been a mainstay in Cincinnati’s defense since being drafted in 2019. Over six seasons, he has started 88 games. He has also amassed 616 total tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and seven interceptions. His reliability and consistency have made him a valuable piece of the Bengals’ defense. Moreover, he has developed into a strong coverage linebacker. He has allowed a passer rating of 88.1 or lower over the past three seasons. Pratt has also limited opposing quarterbacks to no more than two touchdowns in coverage per year. His skill set would complement Elandon Roberts’ run-stopping presence on another team looking for veteran leadership.</p><p>Take note as well that Pratt is entering the final year of his three-year, $20 million contract. He is set to become a free agent in 2026. In fact, Spotrac projects that he could command a two-year deal worth around $9 million annually on the open market. That’s a price the Las Vegas Raiders could easily afford if they acquired him via trade.</p><h2>What Could the Bengals Get in Return?</h2><p>A logical trade partner for Pratt is the Las Vegas Raiders. This is a team in dire need of stability at the linebacker position. With new head coach Pete Carroll prioritizing a defense-first approach, adding a proven veteran like Pratt could immediately strengthen the core of their defense. In exchange, the Bengals could land either valuable draft capital or a defensive lineman capable of bolstering their pass rush.</p><p>Given Pratt’s trade request, the Bengals may have limited negotiating leverage. This could allow the Raiders to secure him at a reasonable cost. One potential trade scenario could involve Cincinnati sending Pratt and a mid-round draft pick to Las Vegas in exchange for defensive end Malcolm Koonce. Koonce is a promising young pass rusher. He has shown flashes of potential but has yet to carve out a full-time role in the Raiders’ defense. With the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/bengals-rumors-trey-hendrickson-trade-dead-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-deals">Bengals potentially facing uncertainty</a> regarding Trey Hendrickson’s future, Koonce could step in as a rotational edge rusher with upside.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Insider-shares-update-on-Bengals-plans-for-Trey-Hendrickson.jpg"></figure><p>Alternatively, Cincinnati could opt for a straight draft pick compensation. They could secure a middle-round selection from the Raiders. This would provide the Bengals with another cost-controlled asset while freeing up cap space for potential in-season acquisitions. Regardless of the return, moving Pratt in exchange for pass-rushing help or future draft capital would align with the Bengals’ long-term vision.</p><h2>The Big Picture</h2><p>With the Bengals aiming to cement their status as perennial Super Bowl contenders, making the right roster moves is crucial. Trading Germaine Pratt, while a difficult decision, represents a smart, forward-thinking strategy. By offloading a veteran linebacker who has requested a move and securing either pass-rushing help or valuable draft capital, Cincinnati can address a key defensive need while maintaining roster flexibility. The 2025 offseason has already seen major commitments to Chase and Higgins, but reinforcing the defense is the next logical step. If the Bengals pull the trigger on a well-structured trade, they could enter the season with a more balanced, championship-ready squad.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Perfect trade Cincinnati Bengals must complete after 2025 NFL free agency frenzy

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-rumors-trey-hendrickson-trade-dead-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-deals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Trey Hendrickson trade talks ‘appear dead’ after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Trey-Hendrickson-trade-talks-appear-dead-after-JaMarr-Chase-Tee-Higgins-deals.jpg"></figure><h1>Trey Hendrickson trade talks ‘appear dead’ after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-25T15:20:14-07:00">March 25th, 3:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-25T15:32:38-07:00">March 25th, 3:32pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Bengals entered the offseason with major question marks around three of their star players. The Bengals surprised many in the NFL when they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-agree-4-year-contract-extensions">re-signed both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins</a> to four-year extensions. But Trey Hendrickson’s future with the team remains up in the air.</p><p>With negotiations for a new contract at a standstill, Cincinnati gave <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-trey-hendrickson-permission-seek-trade">Hendrickson permission to explore trade options</a>. But now it appears the team has <a href="https://x.com/Schultz_Report/status/1904648022874615848" rel="noopener">changed its mind</a> on moving the All-Pro defensive end.</p><p>“The idea of a trade appears dead,” according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz on X.</p><p>“The organization and ownership are fully prepared to move forward and attempt to negotiate a deal with [Hendrickson]… After talking to multiple people involved, they have now reached the conclusion that a trade is really off the table,” Schultz said.</p><p>“Now it really becomes, can both sides reach a fair agreement. Can they come together and find a number that works for not only Trey but obviously the organization,” he added.</p><h2><b>Can the Bengals afford to keep Trey Hendrickson?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Trey-Hendrickson.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Bengals made Ja’Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-immediate-reaction-161-million-extension">$161 million contract</a>. And Tee Higgins is the best-paid WR2 in football history thanks to his $112 million deal. Considering quarterback Joe Burrow is entering the third year of his five-year, $275 million contract, are the Bengals capable of coming up with enough cash to keep Hendrickson?</p><p>Cincinnati boasted the best passing game in football in 2024 but the defense was lacking and the team narrowly missed out on the playoffs. Hendrickson is a key piece of the Bengals’ defense. He led the league with 17.5 sacks last season. It was the second straight year Hendrickson racked up 17.5 sacks and the fourth time in his eight-year career that he’s had at least 13.5 sacks in a season.</p><p>Clearly, Hendrickson will be in high demand on the open market if he becomes a free agent after 2025. Despite granting him permission to seek a trade, it always seemed clear the Bengals weren’t interested in moving the four-time Pro Bowler. The team’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/nfl-rumors-bengals-ridiculous-trey-hendrickson-demands-nuking-trade-talks">asking price in trade talks</a> was considered way over the top. Now the NFL world will wait to see if the Bengals can retain another star player on a high-end contract.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Trey Hendrickson trade talks ‘appear dead’ after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-rumors-twists-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contract-details');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bengals rumors: ‘Twists’ emerge in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins contract details');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bengals-rumors-Twists-emerge-in-JaMarr-Chase-Tee-Higgins-contract-details.jpg"></figure><h1>Bengals rumors: ‘Twists’ emerge in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins contract details</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T16:21:21-07:00">March 24th, 4:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T16:41:12-07:00">March 24th, 4:41pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Bengals surprised many in the NFL world when the team inked both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to massive, four-year extensions. And since the signings, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-savage-troll-job-naysayers-offseason-success-goes-viral">Bengals have been feeling themselves</a>, taking a victory lap after one of the offseason’s biggest moves.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-immediate-reaction-161-million-extension">Chase agreed to a $161 million deal</a> that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, with an average annual value of $40.250 million. And Higgins became the highest-paid WR2 ever with his $115 million extension. His yearly AAV of $28.750 million ranks ninth among all wideouts.</p><p>However, the devil is in the details. And <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/aaron-rodgers-longs-for-nostalgia-takeaways#_1sn3kyq4v" rel="noopener">both deals</a> the Bengals made with the receivers include a twist, per Albert Breer of SI. In Chase’s case, the biggest payout comes in the final year of his new contract. Chase is set to make $44.816 million in 2029. As Breer points out, the massive salary in the final year of the deal helped Chase achieve his record yearly average.</p><h2><b>Are the Bengals better after re-signing Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Chase-Higgins.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>But the All-Pro wideout won’t have any guaranteed money remaining on his contract by 2029. Chase received $73.9 million guaranteed when he signed the extension and he can make up to $112 million in guarantees. But his final year is not guaranteed. And in addition to making nearly $45 million in 2029, he’ll carry a $53.216 million cap hit.</p><p>Now Chase will only be entering his age-29 season in 2029 and it’s likely he’s still close to the top of his game. Additionally, the receiver market – and the cap in general – will only continue to increase, making that salary manageable for Cincy.</p><p>As for Higgins, the Bengals opted to protect themselves after the star wideout missed 10 games over the last two seasons. Higgins’ contract includes $2 million a year in per-game roster bonuses, according to Breer. He’ll receive $117,647 for each game he’s active over the course of his contract. Cincinnati included the provision as Higgins has had some injury issues in his career. He last played a full regular season in 2020, his first year in the league.</p><p>Despite the intricacies of the contracts, Cincinnati’s wideouts got what they wanted. However, some wonder if the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-insider-answers-question-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contracts">extensions make the Bengals a better team</a>. The contention is that the Bengals have allocated far too much money to three offensive players. Meanwhile, last season’s sack leader, Trey Hendrickson, is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-latest-trey-hendrickson-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contracts">still waiting for a new deal</a>.</p><p>While the defense may continue to struggle, the Bengals should continue to light it up on offense. After leading the league in passing last season, Cincinnati should only get better assuming Higgins can stay healthy and available.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bengals rumors: ‘Twists’ emerge in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins contract details

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/nfl-rumors-insider-shares-update-bengals-plans-trey-hendrickson');   ga('set', 'title', 'NFL rumors: Insider shares update on Bengals plans for Trey Hendrickson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Insider-shares-update-on-Bengals-plans-for-Trey-Hendrickson.jpg"></figure><h1>NFL rumors: Insider shares update on Bengals plans for Trey Hendrickson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T14:47:22-07:00">March 24th, 2:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T14:47:22-07:00">March 24th, 2:47pm</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the Cincinnati Bengals taking care of wide receivers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-agree-4-year-contract-extensions">Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins</a>, the attention now turns to edge rusher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/nfl-rumors-colts-trey-hendrickson-trade-pursuit-gets-eye-opening-update">Trey Hendrickson, who previously requested a trade</a> this offseason, but the franchise is trying to extend him as well. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport <a href="https://youtu.be/BDEFtLNICDs?t=289" rel="noopener">spoke on where</a> the Bengals stand with Hendrickson.</p><p>“The Bengals do not like letting good players leave the building,” Ian Rapoport said on The Pat McAfee Show. “Even if it’s for a huge draft pick, they don’t like it. They like to develop, draft, sign their own guys. I think that they geet annoyed that people think that they don’t sign their guys. So Hendrickson is awesome, I think he deserves a lot of money. I think his next contract is going to be above $30 (million). Is it going to be like Maxx Crosby? I don’t know, but it’s going to be above $30 (million). I think, not I think, I know the Bengals are working on it. I know they would like to keep him in the building, they would like to pay him, and I think they would like people to stop saying why don’t the Bengals pay their guys, because they do.”</p><p>It is apparent that the Bengals are trying to keep all three of their star players, and they have done so with two already in Chase and Higgins. They want to buck the narrative that they do not retain their players. However, the critique of the Bengals has been that they wait to extend their players, resulting in bigger contracts. This is a similar critique that is thrown at the Dallas Cowboys due to their waiting to extend players like CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. They are in the process of trying to extend Micah Parsons as well.</p><p>It will be interesting to see if the Bengals are able to get an extension done with Hendrickson at some point this offseason to keep their team intact.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NFL rumors: Insider shares update on Bengals plans for Trey Hendrickson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/perfect-trey-hendrickson-contract-bengals-must-offer-after-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-deals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Perfect Trey Hendrickson contract Bengals must offer after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Perfect-Trey-Hendrickson-contract-Bengals-must-offer-after-JaMarr-Chase-Tee-Higgins-deals.jpg"></figure><h1>Perfect Trey Hendrickson contract Bengals must offer after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T08:42:01-07:00">March 24th, 8:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T08:42:01-07:00">March 24th, 8:42am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Bengals need to make some aggressive moves during the 2025 NFL offseason. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-most-blame-wildly-disappointing-2024-campaign">Cincinnati was one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL</a> during the 2024 season. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-zac-taylor-brutally-honest-lou-anarumo-firing-missing-playoffs">Bengals barely missed out on the playoffs</a> after a dreadful start to the season put them in too deep of a hole.</p><p>Now the Bengals need to figure out how to upgrade their defense, and keep their core players together, before trying again in 2025.</p><p>It has already been an eventful offseason for the Bengals. Veteran defensive lineman <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-fan-favorite-announces-retirement-release-saves-9-5-million-cap-space">Sam Hubbard announced his retirement from the NFL in early March</a>. His retirement increases the need for Cincinnati to upgrade on defense.</p><p>The Bengals also completed a few huge contract extensions. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-how-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-extensions-actually-help-bengals-cap-situation">Cincinnati extended both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins</a> on four-year contracts, locking them down for a long time.</p><p>While this move gives the Bengals some stability on offense moving forward, it does limit their options for handing out other contract extensions.</p><p>Joe Burrow has been vocal that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-joe-burrow-doubles-down-trey-hendrickson-contract-stance">Cincinnati also needs to extend superstar Trey Hendrickson</a> this offseason. Hendrickson is the best defensive player the Bengals have, so it makes sense to keep him around if they can afford it.</p><p>But can the Bengals afford to extend Hendrickson after handing out two other large contracts?</p><p>Below we will explore the perfect contract offer the Bengals should make to Trey Hendrickson after signing both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins earlier in March.</p><h2><b>The Bengals need to make this perfect contract offer to Trey Hendrickson</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cincinnati-Bengals-DE-Trey-Hendrickson_e75971.jpg"></figure><p>The Bengals need to offer Trey Hendrickson a massive contract extension to keep him in Cincinnati.</p><p>I am proposing that Cincinnati should offer Hendrickson a <b>four-year contract worth roughly $128 million</b>. This contract would have an average annual value around $32 million per season.</p><p>According to Spotrac, Trey Hendrickson has a <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/market-value/_/id/21845/trey-hendrickson" rel="noopener">market value of roughly $31.5 million per season</a> on a new contract.</p><p>That would be a large pay raise from his current contract, which comes with a $18.67 million cap hit in 2025. Hendrickson only has one more year left on this contract, so it makes sense that he would want a new deal wherever he plays in 2025.</p><p>Spotrac looked at previous edge rusher contracts to come up with Hendrickson’s contract value. When looking at those contracts, it is hard to argue against giving him a big extension.</p><p>Here are a few of those contracts for reference:</p><ul><li>Nick Bosa – five-year contract worth $170 million – $34 million per season – signed at age 25</li><li>Myles Garrett – four-year contract worth $160 million – $40 million per season – sign at age 29</li><li>Maxx Crosby – four-year contract worth $94 million – $23.5 million per season – signed at age 24</li><li>Danielle Hunter – two-year contract worth $49 million – $24.5 million per season – signed at age 29</li></ul><p>One clear trend from this data is that edge rusher don’t often receive huge contract extensions in their 30s. Hendrickson will turn 31 years old during the 2025 season, so age could be a minor concern for the Bengals.</p><p>That said, Hendrickson is certainly worthy of a contract in that ballpark. He is coming off back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks, which makes him one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.</p><p>The Bengals are more likely to extend Hendrickson than they are to trade him. There is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/nfl-rumors-bengals-not-eager-trade-trey-hendrickson-high-interest">significant interest in Hendrickson around the NFL</a>, but the Bengals still do not prefer to send him away.</p><p>Unfortunately, it is difficult to truly understand Cincinnati’s financial situation enough to predict if they’ll offer him a similar contract.</p><p>One factor to consider is the structure of the contracts for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The Bengals will need a certain amount of cap space to consider giving Hendrickson a big raise. According to Over the Cap, the Bengals should have <a href="https://overthecap.com/calculator/cincinnati-bengals" rel="noopener">$23.93 million in cap space in 2025</a> after those big extensions.</p><p>Therefore, from a cap perspective, the Bengals could keep him as long as they are clever with structuring his contract.</p><p>There is also a strictly financial angle to consider. NFL teams have to hand out signing bonuses when large extensions are signed. They also need to put money in escrow for any guaranteed money included in a contract.</p><p>It is fair to question how much cash the Bengals have on hand after handing out two massive extensions this month.</p><p>Hopefully the Bengals can find a way to pay Hendrickson before the 2025 NFL Draft in April. That would give the Bengals more clarity on how to use their picks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Perfect Trey Hendrickson contract Bengals must offer after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-agree-contract-ex-saints-bears-guard');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bengals agree to contract with ex-Saints, Bears guard');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bengals-news-Cincinnati-agrees-to-contract-with-ex-Saints-Bears-guard.jpg"></figure><h1>Bengals agree to contract with ex-Saints, Bears guard</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-21T14:23:20-07:00">March 21st, 2:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-21T14:23:20-07:00">March 21st, 2:23pm</time><address><a>Dakota Zientek</a>Dakota Zientek graduated from the University of Iowa in 2020 and has been writing about the NFL ever since. As a die-hard NFL fan, Dakota's fandom rides with the Chicago Bears through thick and thin -- regardless of how much pain it has caused his heart throughout the years. One day, he believes he will celebrate the Bears winning a Super Bowl. Maybe even... a few?</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bears</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As a team that’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-agree-4-year-contract-extensions">spent big on their offense heading into 2025</a>, the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line added some much-needed reinforcements in free agency. As an offensive line that must protect their highly paid quarterback, the Bengals signed eight-year veteran Lucas Patrick to a <a href="https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1903172846073090177" rel="noopener">one-year deal</a>, per Adam Schefter on X, after spending time with the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints.</p><p>“Bengals signed free agent G Lucas Patrick to a one-year contract,” Schefter wrote. “Patrick previously started 64 games for the Packers (2017-21), Bears (’22-23) and Saints (’24).”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bengals signed free agent G Lucas Patrick to a one-year contract. Patrick previously started 64 games for the Packers (2017-21), Bears ('22-23) and Saints ('24). <a href="https://t.co/Vr9K9ulEoY">pic.twitter.com/Vr9K9ulEoY</a></p><p>— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1903172846073090177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Going into 2025, the Bengals’ offensive line looks as such:</p><ul><li><b>LT:</b> Orlando Brown Jr.</li><li><b>LG:</b> Cordell Volson</li><li><b>C:</b> Ted Karras</li><li><b>RG:</b> Cody Ford</li><li><b>RT:</b> Amarius Mims</li></ul><p>Now, as a versatile interior offensive lineman, Patrick could — in theory — play either of the guard spots or center.</p><p>Throughout his eight-year NFL career, Patrick has shown an ability to line up at any of the interior spots and produce well. In fact, he’s even lined up on the outside as a left tackle a time or two — or three.</p><p><b>Lucas Patrick snaps by position (2017-2024)</b></p><ul><li><b>LT:</b> 3 snaps</li><li><b>LG:</b> 1,087 snaps</li><li><b>C:</b> 2,009 snaps</li><li><b>RG: </b>1,372 snaps</li><li><b>RT:</b> 0 snaps</li></ul><p>So, as a Swiss army knife in the middle of the field for the Packers, Bears, and Saints, Patrick offers versatility to an offensive line that might not have all five positions completely ironed out.</p><p>Since the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-cincinnati-re-signs-joe-burrow-protector-2-year-deal">Bengals just re-signed Cody Ford</a>, it’s less likely that Patrick lines up as the right guard much. However, with Cordell Volson’s <a href="https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/cordell-volson/30614" rel="noopener">tough 2024 season</a>, Patrick could come in and give an immediate upgrade to the left guard spot, a position the former Bears guard has played for over 1,000 snaps.</p><p>While left guard is his least-played position on the line, he’s spent approximately a quarter of his career lined up to the left of the center.</p><p>So, while the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-latest-trey-hendrickson-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contracts">Bengals continue working on an extension for Trey Hendrickson</a>, they shored up the offensive line, keeping their $275 million quarterback healthy.</p><p>Now, will Lucas Patrick be the reason Cincy makes a playoff run in the 2025-26 NFL season? It’d be unlikely for <i>him</i> to be the sole reason, but clearly, the Bengals believes he’s good enough to sign him to a one-year contract in free agency.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bengals agree to contract with ex-Saints, Bears guard

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/bengals-news-stephen-a-smith-jamarr-chase-bold-jerry-rice-randy-moss-expectations');   ga('set', 'title', 'Stephen A. Smith hits Ja’Marr Chase with bold Jerry Rice, Randy Moss expectations');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bengals-news-Stephen-A.-Smith-hits-JaMarr-Chase-with-bold-Jerry-Rice-Randy-Moss-expectations.jpg"></figure><h1>Stephen A. Smith hits Ja’Marr Chase with bold Jerry Rice, Randy Moss expectations</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-20T10:02:35-07:00">March 20th, 10:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-20T10:02:35-07:00">March 20th, 10:02am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Bengals</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Bengals accomplished a massive goal of theirs when they managed to sign both <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/grading-bengals-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contracts-totaling-276-million">Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term contract extensions</a>, keeping arguably the NFL’s top wide receiver duo intact for the foreseeable future. And now that they are sticking around, Stephen A. Smith has set some high expectations for Chase in particular.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/bengals-news-jamarr-chase-immediate-reaction-161-million-extension">Chase is fresh off one of the most dominant individual seasons</a> for a wide receiver, as he led the league in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708), and receiving touchdowns (17). Now that he’s sticking around with Higgins and his quarterback Joe Burrow, Smith believes that he could be <a href="https://youtu.be/v4iAkSiyIr0?t=597" rel="noopener">mentioned in the same conversation</a> as legends like Jerry Rice and Randy Moss when all is said and done.</p><p>“I think Ja’Marr Chase is a stud,” Smith said on “First Take.” “I had no idea. I knew he was good, but I think this brother, look at his body, look at his speed, his ball catching ability, look at how he runs away from defenses. I mean this brother is spectacular. He to me has a chance to be one of the top three receivers in NFL history when all is said and done. We are talking about Jerry Rice, we are talking about Randy Moss, we are talking about TO, Terrell Owens.”</p><h2><b>Stephen A. Smith sets the bar high for Ja’Marr Chase</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bengals-wide-receiver-JaMarr-Chase.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>This is a very bold statement from Smith. Rice is easily the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, and Moss is right up towards the top of that list alongside him. Chase has gotten off to a very impressive start in the NFL, but there’s no telling whether or not he will be able to produce at the same sort of level we have seen from him for another decade or so, which is what it would take in order for this prediction to come true.</p><p>Chase does have several things working for him, though. He has familiarity with Burrow dating back to their collegiate days with the LSU Tigers, he has another de facto star receiver playing alongside him in Higgins, and he plays in a pass-happy Bengals offense. Time will tell whether or not Smith ends up being correct, but for now, Chase and the Bengals will be focused on getting back to work now that they have hammered out their extension.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tanner
McLachlan

Latest Related Team News

Bengals rumors: Insider reveals 2 hang-ups in Trey Hendrickson trade talks

Grading ESPN’s Lions-Bengals Trey Hendrickson trade proposal

Trey Hendrickson calls out Bengals ‘poor communication’ amid contract extension talks

Bengals 7-round 2025 NFL mock draft, per PFF simulator

Bengals’ Zac Taylor sends ‘patient’ Trey Hendrickson message

Perfect trade Cincinnati Bengals must complete after 2025 NFL free agency frenzy

Trey Hendrickson trade talks ‘appear dead’ after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals

• Bengals rumors: ‘Twists’ emerge in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins contract details

• NFL rumors: Insider shares update on Bengals plans for Trey Hendrickson

• Perfect Trey Hendrickson contract Bengals must offer after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals

• Bengals agree to contract with ex-Saints, Bears guard

• Stephen A. Smith hits Ja’Marr Chase with bold Jerry Rice, Randy Moss expectations

Tanner McLachlan

Latest Related Team News

Bengals rumors: Insider reveals 2 hang-ups in Trey Hendrickson trade talks

Grading ESPN’s Lions-Bengals Trey Hendrickson trade proposal

Trey Hendrickson calls out Bengals ‘poor communication’ amid contract extension talks

Bengals 7-round 2025 NFL mock draft, per PFF simulator

Bengals’ Zac Taylor sends ‘patient’ Trey Hendrickson message

Perfect trade Cincinnati Bengals must complete after 2025 NFL free agency frenzy

Trey Hendrickson trade talks ‘appear dead’ after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals

• Bengals rumors: ‘Twists’ emerge in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins contract details

• NFL rumors: Insider shares update on Bengals plans for Trey Hendrickson

• Perfect Trey Hendrickson contract Bengals must offer after Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins deals

• Bengals agree to contract with ex-Saints, Bears guard

• Stephen A. Smith hits Ja’Marr Chase with bold Jerry Rice, Randy Moss expectations

Tanner
McLachlan