Why Bengals aren't using franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson and what it means

Why Bengals aren't using franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson and what it means originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly made a decision on star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bengals will not use the franchise tag on Hendrickson, which means he will hit the free-agent market this offseason.

"Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson is not being tagged and now will become an unrestricted free agent," Schefter reported.

Why Bengals aren't tagging Hendrickson

According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Bengals "never seriously considered" using the tag on Hendrickson, and there could be several reasons why.

For starters, Hendrickson is getting up there in age at 31 years old and is coming off a season in which he struggled with injury, limiting him to just seven games.

There was also a realistic possibility that Hendrickson could hold out if the Bengals did tag him and did not ink him to a long-term extension, which would have put the two sides in the same boat they were in last offseason.

Not to mention, if Hendrickson played on the tag in 2026, all $24.4 million of the franchise tag price would have been on Cincinnati's books, which would have seriously limited the team in free agency.

Now, the Bengals will be equipped with all $47.7 million of their cap space as they embark on an offseason in which they have several needs to address, especially on defense. Losing Hendrickson adds another to the list.

What it means

This now means that Hendrickson will hit the free-agent market and his days in Cincinnati are almost certainly over.

Despite coming off a down year, there should be several teams interested in the former Pro Bowler given his past production and the value teams place on edge rushers.

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