Trey Hendrickson Injury: Not being tagged

The Bengals will not place the franchise tag on Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) by Tuesday's deadline, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

After two contentious offseasons between the two sides, Cincinnati will allow the veteran pass rusher to reach free agency. Injuries limited Hendrickson to just seven regular-season games in 2025, in which span he tallied 16 tackles (11 solo) including 4.0 sacks, plus one pass defensed and one forced fumble. However, he played all 17 regular-season games in both 2023 and 2024 and tallied 17.5 sacks each of those years, a ceiling that will make the 31-year-old defensive end one of the top available free agents on the open market. He's recovering from December core-muscle surgery, but it isn't expected to be an issue once his new team's offseason program begins in earnest.