The Bengals are keeping one of their role players on offense.
Cincinnati announced on Friday that the club has signed tight end Tanner Hudson to a one-year deal.
Hudson joined the Bengals late in the 2022 season on their practice squad. He then stuck with the club over the last two seasons, first catching 39 passes for 352 yards with a touchdown in 2023. Last season, he made 19 receptions for 154 yards with a TD.
In 56 career games for the Buccaneers, 49ers, Giants, and Bengals, Hudson’s caught 73 passes for 705 yards with two TDs.
The Bengals had repeatedly said they hope to sign defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a long-term deal. On Thursday, the notoriously frugal franchise threw in the paper towel, allowing Hendrickson to seek a trade.
So what happened? Maxx happened.
Applying common sense to the indisputable timeline, it seems obvious that the Bengals’ plan to try to sign Hendrickson changed the moment Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosy re-set the non-quarterback market at $35.5 million per year in new money, with two years of full guarantees and a third year that is, as a practical matter, guaranteed at signing.
It might not be that the Crosby deal made Hendrickson want more. It could be that the Crosby contract made Hendrickson’s prior position — at which the Bengals quite possibly scoffed — more reasonable.
Hendrickson has 35.0 sacks over the last two years. Crosby has 34.5 sacks over the last three. And Hendrickson will make only $16 million this year.
After the Crosby deal, something had to give. It’s officially given. Hendrickson will be traded, unless the Bengals regard the best offer they receive as not good enough. (It would be fitting for the Bengals to want too much draft-pick compensation for a player whom they think wants too much money.)
So, yes, the Bengals wanted to sign Hendrickson. On their terms, not his. With Crosby’s deal making Hendrickson’s terms far more reasonable, the team’s only move is to move on.
And to hope Joe Burrow will buy the front office a cake that says, “At least you tried.”
Joey Bose officially became a free agent on Thursday. He can sign with any team, at any time.
The folks at DraftKings have installed the 49ers as the betting favorite to unite Bosa with his younger brother, Nick. The odds at +220.
Next on the list is the team that cut him, the Chargers. They’re 4-1.
The Lions are 8-1, and the Bears and Patriots land at 9-1. Next are the Bengals and Cardinals at 10-1, followed by the Commanders and Eagles at 12-1.
There’s talk of a potential “frenzy” for Bosa’s services, especially since this year’s free-agent class doesn’t have an overabundance of high-end options.
The NFL’s 2024 sack leader could be on the move in the coming weeks.
According to multiple reports, the Bengals have given edge rusher Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to represent Cincinnati over the last four years,” Hendrickson said, via Adam Schefter of ESPN. “I love this city and organization. I appreciate the privilege of now being allowed to explore my options.”
Hendrickson, 30, joined the Bengals in 2021 as a free agent, signing a new deal to keep him under contract through 2025 in July 2023. After recording 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, Hendrickson is in line for an extension. Having already franchise-tagged Tee Higgins with the intent to sign him to a long-term contract and Ja’Marr Chase also in line for a lucrative extension this offseason, Hendrickson is apparently the odd man out.
He’s currently due $15.8 million in base salary in 2025 with no money guaranteed. A trade would save Cincinnati $16 million against the cap.
A third-round pick in 2017, Hendrickson spent his first four seasons with New Orleans. He had a breakout season in 2020, registering 13.5 sacks after he’d had just 6.5 in his first three seasons. He has become one of the league’s best in Cincinnati, tallying 57.0 sacks per his four seasons with the club.
He’s earned a Pro Bowl berth in each of the last four seasons and was a first-team AP All-Pro for the first time in 2024. He also finished second in AP defensive player of the year voting.
While Browns star edge rusher Myles Garrett has requested a trade, Cleveland has remained steadfast in wanting to keep him. With Hendrickson now on the market, teams with a need at the position have another solid option.
The Bengals are sticking with their stated plans. For now, at least.
When they applied the franchise tag for the second straight year to receiver Tee Higgins, the Bengals reiterated their “intent” to try to sign Higgins to a long-term deal. Which means they won’t promptly trade him.
Via Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com, “multiple teams” have contacted the Bengals about a Higgins trade. The Bengals have said Higgins “remains unavailable” as they work toward a long-term deal.
On one hand, it will be very difficult for the Bengals to turn his $26.16 million for 2025 and a straight shot at 2026 free agency into a long-term deal. They’ll need to make him an offer with guarantees that extend beyond this year; the Bengals typically avoid that. Even if they’re willing to fully guarantee at least two years of compensation, the dollars will not be insubstantial. Higgins can always say, “no thanks,” take his cash for 2025, and go to the highest bidder in 2026.
On the other hand, the Bengals need to placate quarterback Joe Burrow. Even if they can’t, and ultimately won’t, make Higgins an offer he won’t refuse, the Bengals need Burrow to think they tried everything they could to get it done. They need Burrow to believe that, at the end of the day, Higgins is the one who was being unreasonable.
At this point, they can’t make it look like they want to trade him. By late April, when the draft gets rolling, the Bengals might feel differently.
In the interim, other teams could host Higgins for a visit. Even if no one will sign him to an offer sheet that, if matched, would send a pair of first-round picks to the Bengals, he’s allowed to talk to anyone (as of next Wednesday). If nothing else, such a visit could lay the foundation for the moment when the Bengals believe they can persuade Burrow that the failure to sign Higgins to a long-term deal isn’t their fault.
The dance has just started. It will continue. And Higgins has plenty of moves he can make. In the end, he can refuse all offers, stay away from the offseason program, training camp, and the preseason. He can show up just before the start of the regular season, claim his $26.16 million, and prepare to sign with any team he chooses in 2026.
If the Bengals want to keep him beyond 2025, they need to put something on the table that gets him to trade in a very attractive Plan A.
