This week has not been a great one for NFL owners. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said the trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson was a swing and a miss. Watson is still on the Browns, by the way. Then, some potentially good news for the Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals owner Kati Blackburn says some silly remarks about sack specialist Trey Hendrickson.
The issue for Hendrickson with the Bengals is that he keeps producing at a high level, but the team has focused more on signing wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase. Both those players are outstanding, and they deserve to be paid. So does Hendrickson.
Blackburn said she hopes Hendrickson will be happy simply because he can play in the NFL and for the Bengals. On Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show, Hendrickson got to respond. He did not hold back.
Chargers should be excited about Trey Hendrickson's recent comments about the Bengals
The edge rusher, who has had 17.5 sacks in each of the last two years, said, "Those comments from Katie Blackburn were definitely disappointing & communication has been poor over the last couple of months." By "poor," he specified that any talks between the team and Hendrickson and his agent have been inconsistent and rare.
"Those comments from Katie Blackburn were definitely disappointing & communication has been poor over the last couple of months..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 2, 2025
It's been a little bit frustrating & if they have anything they'd like to discuss we're definitely willing to listen" ~ Trey Hendrickson #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/C9PUdfKewj
He went on to say that he has had the same phone number since high school, and the Bengals knew what that was. All they needed to do was contact him (or the agent) and see where contract talks go. Of course, the Bengals have been notoriously unwise in how they spend money over the decades. Extending Chase and Higgins? That is wise. Not doing so with Hendrickson yet? Unwise.
Hendrickson added, "(I) don't have any desire to be the highest paid, and we've tried to be as patient as possible (in getting a contract done with Cincinnati)."
The bottom line, though, is that this could mean the Bengals could trade the edge rusher if they do not move to sign him long-term and he continues to be unhappy. Hendrickson in the Los Angeles Chargers scheme would be nearly perfect. His production level would not be expected to drop, and he would push a good Chargers defense toward elite.
This could also mean a deep run in the playoffs for Los Angeles. Plus, imagine how much a combination of Hendrickson and Khalil Mack would wreck opposing offenses.
But what would it take to get Hendrickson? Possibly a first-round choice. That would seem logical, but NFL trades are sometimes much more one-sided than expected. If the Bengals want to rid themselves of a great player, maybe they take a second-round pick. Smart? No, but this is the Bengals we are talking about.
The Chargers have the draft capital to make a trade and the cap room to work in Hendrickson's contract. The deal might take up about $16 million of the Chargers' remaining $30 million in cap room, but possibly, LA would sign Hendrickson to an extension, lowering his cap hit for 2025. Anything is possible right now with the player, and the Chargers should make a move to add him.