CINCINNATI — Trey Hendrickson couldn’t be more grateful or happy that his nine-month contract drama has finally drawn to an end. Would he preferred a two-year extension? Sure. But now with a suitable raise for this season, it’s now all about football.
“It’s good to have it behind us,” Hendrickson told reporters at his locker after his first practice back Wednesday. “It’s getting close to the season. A very humbling experience.”
Hendrickson on Monday agreed to terms and signed a new one-year, $29 million deal for 2025 with incentives that could bump his earnings up another $1 million. Once his finances were resolved Monday, he couldn’t wait to get back on the field Wednesday.
“I would love to be out there with the team, that’s what I’m here for to give this knowledge to the guys around me,” Hendrickson said. “It was unfortunate that it took so long, but we’re here. The 2025 Bengals are hopefully a better team with me on it.”
The two sides were reportedly in agreement over a two-year extension through 2027 but were split over guaranteed money in years two and three of the extension. They then came to an agreement when the Bengals offered a one-year pay raise of $13 million from $16 million
“This option wasn’t here the whole time. I’ll just leave it at that. When it presented itself it was incredibly humbled by it. My wife and I prayed about it and it was something we collectively felt good about. In retrospect if it helps with that extension I signed and also in some ways helps the 2025 Bengals I feel like it’s a mutual common ground. It’s a mutual respect that we weren’t finding solutions any other way.
“I’m a football player and football players play football. It’s good to be back out there with the guys. Not that I didn’t enjoy coaching, but that’s not what I am here to do. Looking forward to getting back to football.”
Hendrickson believes he’ll be in good physical shape to start the season and conditioning shouldn’t be an issue.
“(Head trainer) Joey Boese did a great job of keeping me in shape in terms of conditioning and weightlifting,” Hendrickson said. “We really got after it this last month. This practice went well. Football is a tough sport and I’m looking forward to getting back into shape, but I am ready to go.
“The priority was always the 2025 Bengals, whatever this looked like. Unfortunately for me I can’t write my own contracts. That’s something that we had common ground in finding and that’s what we’re doing now and that’s what’s best for the 2025 Bengals is to just suit up and play. I’m humbled by the experience.”
Hendrickson took no shots at management and expressed only gratitude toward the Brown/Blackburn family for coming up with a solution that gets him on the field.
“I can only say it so many times, and I feel like the compromise was mutual,” Hendrickson said. “To be given a raise under the current circumstances where a lot of things this offseason being brought up about that extension that I signed, this now adds to that extension. In some ways it was an incredible honor to be in that position.”
Finally a Risner:
Jordan Schultz was the first to report Wednesday afternoon, just moments after practice ended, that 30-year-old veteran guard Dalton Risner was headed to Cincinnati to bolster the interior offensive line. It was a report that Risner later confirmed himself.
WHO DEY NATION! https://t.co/JcnsYJkoxj
— Dalton Risner (@Dalton_Risner66) August 27, 2025
Per Pro Football Focus, Risner has allowed zero sacks over the last two regular seasons.
Practice Squad set:
After settling on their 53-man roster on Tuesday, the Bengals set most of their 16-man practice squad on Wednesday before practice. In all, 14 players were signed, with 13 of them on the Bengals during training camp.
–HB Gary Brightwell
–OT Devin Cochran
–OT Andrew Coker
–CB Jalen Davis
–LB Joe Giles-Harris
–G Jaxson Kirkland
–CB Bralyn Lux
–C Seth McLaughlin
–HB Kendall Milton
–WR Jordan Moore
–LB Maema Njongmeta
–DE Isaiah Thomas
–WR Isaiah Williams
The team also signed quarterback Brett Rypien to the practice squad. Rypien (6-2, 200 pounds), a sixth-year player out of Boise State University, originally was a college free agent signee of Denver in 2019. He has played in 10 career games with four starts for the Broncos (2020-22) and L.A. Rams (’23), and completed 98 of 168 passes for 950 yards and four touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also spent time on Seattle’s practice squad and the N.Y. Jets’ active roster during the 2023 season, then spent the entire ’24 campaign on Minnesota’s practice squad.
The Bengals also placed three players (OT Caleb Etienne, TE Tanner McLachlan, G Cordell Volson) on season-ending injured reserve after all three were waived as injured on Tuesday and cleared waivers Wednesday.
Bengals Wednesday practice:
* Faces back include Trey Hendrickson, Jermaine Burton, Myles Murphy, DJ Turner
* Full pads practice
* Hendrickson took part in full individual work during media portion of practice for the first 30 minutes.
* Practice squad players also part of practice.
* PS OL Devin Cochran, Andrew Coker and Seth McLaughlin all in attendance.
