The Cincinnati Bengals will not franchise tag star defensive end Trey Hendrickson, according to multiple reports ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, making the four-time Pro Bowler a free agent.
Teams had until Tuesday afternoon to issue franchise or transition tags to players eligible to become free agents next week.
Hendrickson’s 2025 season was shortened by core muscle surgery in December. He last played on Oct. 26 and totaled only seven games (all starts).
Hendrickson finished with 16 tackles, including four sacks and three tackles for loss, as well as one forced fumble and eight quarterback hits. He played 59% of the defensive snaps.
Hendrickson, 31, entered 2025 with an NFL-best 35 total sacks over the previous two years.
He had spent the offseason ahead of the 2025 slate in a standoff with the Bengals over the lack of a contract extension. He requested a trade, but Cincinnati eventually coaxed him out of a holdout posture with a $14 million raise that pushed his salary to $30 million.
Hendrickson has 81 career sacks in 117 games with the New Orleans Saints (2017-20) and Bengals. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in four consecutive seasons (2021-24) and was first-team All-Pro in 2024.
New Orleans selected Hendrickson in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Florida Atlantic.
