While recent reports have Cincinnati Bengals‘ owner Mike Brown sounding optimistic about a potential new deal with Trey Hendrickson, nothing has happened yet. And – as per usual – every day that the Bengals wait to get a key player under contract, the price just goes up. Especially when other players at the same position are getting paid around the league.
The Pittsburgh Steelers probably overpaid T.J. Watt, but that’s a different conversation for a different day. He still got paid. And news broke yesterday that the Kansas City Chiefs just signed defensive end George Karlaftis to a four-year, $93 million contract with $62 million guaranteed. Without knowing the nuances of NFL contracts (and who possibly could unless you’re a general manager or an agent…even then), that’s roughly $23.25 million per year according to my Texas Instruments TI-85 graphing calculator.
Now, Karlaftis isn’t Watt, Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett or even Hendrickson, but his deal still puts him way above Hendrickson’s $16 million for this season and he’s not nearly as good.
“That’s a great thing,” head coach Andy Reid said Sunday of the Karlaftis deal. “And he’s a heck of a player, and he’s done a great job here, and he’s profited from that. Our team also profits from him being around, so it’s a win-win there.
“He is a relentless player, I mean that’s what you get with George,” Reid added. “He’s smart; relentless. You can trust and know that he is reliable, so you can trust that he is going to be there and do the right things and go 100 miles an hour doing them. Very well respected that way.”
Wouldn’t it be a great thing for the Bengals is Zac Taylor got to hold a press conference like this?
Bengals management think Hendrickson deal will get done
According to ESPN’s Ben Baby, Brown is optimistic that something will get ironed out with Hendrickson.
“I think it’ll get done,” he said.
If only there was a way to make that happen, Mike. If only you had the power to make him happy at a reasonable price that gets him back working with the team towards the mutual goal of winning a Super Bowl. Honestly, it’s no wonder the fans feel the way they do about ownership.
General manager Duke Tobin (yes, Bill’s kid) also extolled the virtues of his best defensive player to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
“He’s an important part of our team… He’s a guy who has been very valuable. He has earned a raise and extension. We’ll see if we can come together on something,” Tobin said.
Yes, Tobin is the general manager, but it’s really not known how much pull he has within the organization. Ultimately, Brown and his daughter Katie Blackburn control the purse strings and it’s a very reasonable possibility that Tobin is pulling his hair out in frustration along with the rest of Who Dey Nation.
Rapoport says the Bengals have made offers
Ian Rapoport went on “Good Morning Football” recently and kind of reiterated what everyone already knows. The Bengals want Hendrickson here. Hendrickson wants to get paid. They’ve made offers. They aren’t good enough. Here we are.
“The Bengals also have some work to get done before things kick into gear for them,” Rapoport said. “Not expected to play for that one [$16M contract], at least a raise likely is coming.”
Bengals’ veterans report to training camp on Tuesday and the team really doesn’t want this dragging on. Hendrickson doesn’t either; he just wants fair market value so he can get in and go to work.
“The Bengals have made several offers, including a recent one over the last couple of days,” Rapoport said. “Today [July 21] is a huge day for Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals. We’ll see if they are able to get a deal done that features a raise for him this year, and potentially years after that of course.
“The clock is ticking for Cincy. As by the way, it is for Shemar Stewart. The only first-rounder still unsigned belongs in Cincy.”
It’s not known exactly how the Karlaftis deal affects negotiations with Hendrickson, but one would think that alarm bells would be going off in the building that other players are getting paid around the NFL. If the Bengals aren’t at least offering an annual number that starts with “three,” then we’ll probably be here a while.
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