Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

Joe Burrow Addresses Bengals’ Pending Decisions On Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson

February 6th, 2025 at 2:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

Joe Burrow is on the books for the foreseeable future, but plenty of uncertainty currently surrounds the outlook for many other key Bengals players. Cincinnati’s franchise passer spoke on Thursday about the team’s financial situation and his role in helping to keep existing the core intact.

Tee Higgins highlights the list of pending Bengals free agents, and Burrow has repeatedly made it clear he views keeping him in place as a vital offseason priority. Higgins is by far the most attractive option set to hit the market at the receiver position, however, and he could approach or even surpass $30MM on a new contract. Retaining the 26-year-old at market value will be challenging given the looming mega-extension which the Bengals were unable to work out with Ja’Marr Chase last offseason.

Burrow also mentioned tight end Mike Gesicki as a pass catcher whom the Bengals should work to retain. The veteran inked a one-year, $2.5MM pact in free agency last year and had a strong debut Cincinnati campaign (65 catches, 665 yards, two touchdowns). He has likely earned a raise as a result, but the same is also true of edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. The 2024 sack leader once again finds himself set to negotiate a more lucrative Bengals pact or entertain the idea of being traded. Burrow said keeping Hendrickson in place will be critical this offseason, while acknowledging a raise will be needed to do so.

“The cap is going up each year,” the former No. 1 pick added during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take (via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer). “We just got new TV deals. And, you know, we all want to stay together, so we’re all going to do what it takes to do that… They’re going to be paid what they’re worth, whether we do it or somebody else. I hope we do it.”

For his part, Burrow also indicated during an appearance on Up & Adams (video link) that he would be willing to restructure his pact to create additional 2025 cap space for the Bengals. As things stand, he is set to carry a $46.25MM cap charge next season; while Cincinnati is projected to sit in the top 10 in cap space this year, lowering that figure would certainly make new deals for Higgins and/or Hendrickson more feasible. It will be interesting to see how Burrow and the Bengals operate over the coming weeks in advance of the new league year in March.

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson Open To Trade

February 5th, 2025 at 7:24pm CST by Ely Allen

Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson visited the set on The Pat McAfee Show today, and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic was tuned in, as he always is with Bengals-related media. Dehner pulled away a number of notable tidbits, primarily: Hendrickson wants his contract situation figured out now; whether it’s by extension or trade doesn’t much seem to matter to him.

Nothing about this situation is very new. For each of the past two years, Hendrickson’s contract has been in Cincinnati’s offseason news. Hendrickson initially signed with the Bengals following an impressive conclusion to his rookie deal in New Orleans that saw him total 13.5 sacks in 15 games in 2020. Each year since, Hendrickson has represented Cincinnati as a Pro Bowler, even earning first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career this season after leading the NFL in sacks with 17.5.

As we’ve well learned, the Bengals tend to be allergic to giving NFL players their third contracts, though they’ve recently broken that trend (sort of) with Hendrickson. Initially signing Hendrickson to a four-year, $60MM contract, the Bengals opted to avoid having Hendrickson play with a looming contract year, extending their stud defender before the third year of his deal for an additional season at $21MM.

Similar conversations entailed the following year, with Cincinatti showing hesitancy to extend him a second time. This resulted in Hendrickson requesting a trade before this past season. Ultimately, Hendrickson played through the contract drama, though he remained a hot name in trade circle rumors throughout the year. With their season at an end, the Bengals made it known that they were willing to extend Hendrickson, though it’s unclear where their priorities stand as wide receiver Tee Higgins is poised to make serious money on the free agent market and fellow wideout Ja’Marr Chase is still angling for a monster extension.

Hendrickson’s time on McAfee’s show made a couple things clear. Firstly, whether it’s an extension or a trade, Hendrickson just wants the situation settled quickly. He’d rather not play on an expiring deal and doesn’t want negotiations bleeding into OTAs and training camp. Secondly, he really does not care if it’s solved with a trade; obviously, he’d like to stay with his teammates, but he has no problem being traded. Part of this may be due to frustration with the front office, who Hendrickson mentioned has been terrible with communication, as usual.

Hendrickson also mentioned that the team’s Pro Bowlers (himself, Chase, and Joe Burrow) would like to stay together. On a similar note, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin recently noted that he felt a big issue with the team’s underperforming defense this year was the Bengals’ insistence to keep the core group of defenders from the team’s Super Bowl run together for “a little too long,” per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Obviously, the Pro Bowler, Hendrickson, likely wasn’t a part of the issue, but this sentiment may impact Hendrickson’s contract talks.

Ultimately, signs could be pointing towards an exit for Hendrickson from the Bengals. Knowing the team’s tendency to favor young, cheap contracts and their poor communication, combined with Hendrickson’s lack of concern for how the situation get resolved, a trade seems like the easiest solution for Cincinnati. Especially considering that two straight career years for Hendrickson isn’t likely to make a new extension very cheap, it’s hard to imagine a situation in which the Bengals pay up for the 30-year-old. With Hendrickson’s desire for urgency, a resolution could be coming soon.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/5/25

February 5th, 2025 at 6:23pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s only reserve/futures deal around the NFL:

Cincinnati Bengals

CB Jalen Davis

The veteran undrafted cornerback has spent the last five years in Cincinnati after originally signing with the Dolphins and spending a year with the Cardinals, as well. He’s served mostly as a depth corner and special teamer in the past, and spent last year on the practice squad, getting elevated twice for game action.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/4/25

February 4th, 2025 at 9:40pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are today’s reserve/futures contracts signed around the NFL:

Carolina Panthers

WR Brycen Tremayne

Cincinnati Bengals

WR Mitchell Tinsley

Washington Commanders

OT Bobby Hart

Hart has not played in the NFL since 2022, but he played 98 games over the preceding eight seasons. He has 67 career starts, mostly at right tackle, but only has one year with a Pro Football Focus grade above 60.0 (subscription required).

Jaguars Request GM Interviews With Four Executives

February 3rd, 2025 at 8:52pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jaguars aren’t wasting any time finding a new general manager. Shortly after news broke of their interview request with Buccaneers assistant general manager Mike Greenberg, we learned that the team requested interviews with four other executives. That grouping includes Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander (via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler), Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown (via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones), Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown (via Fowler), and Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham (via TheMMQB’s Albert Breer).

Alexander was a long-time Ravens staffer, with the executive spending two decades with the organization. He worked his way up to assistant director of pro personnel, a gig he held for his final nine years in Baltimore. When all was said and done, he ended up earning a pair of Super Bowl rings during his stint with the organization. He’s most recently bounced around the league, including jobs working under Joe Douglas with the Jets and Joe Hortiz with the Chargers. Alexander was a finalist for the Raiders GM opening earlier this offseason.

Brandon Brown was also a finalist for that job in Las Vegas, and he interview for jobs with the Chargers and Panthers last offseason. The executive made a name for himself in Philadelphia, where he worked his way up from assistant director of pro scouting to director of player personnel. He took his talents to New York in 2022, where he’s spent the past three seasons working as the assistant general manager under Joe Schoen.

Trey Brown cut his teeth in the scouting ranks, spending time in the Patriots and Eagles front offices. After a three-year term as Philly’s director of college scouting, Brown spent a few years leading his own front office with the Birmingham Iron (AAF) and St. Louis BattleHawks (XFL). When those leagues folded, the executive took a scouting job with the Bengals, and he was promoted to a senior personnel executive role in 2022.

Cunningham started his front office career with the Ravens before joining the Eagles as their director of college scouting in 2017. He climbed the ranks to director of player personnel before taking an assistant GM job with the Bears in 2022. He’s spent the past three seasons in Chicago, although he’s flirted with promotions over the past two years. He was a finalist for the Commanders job last year, and he’s also been connected to jobs with the Chargers and Titans.

Cunningham was one of the initial names to be connected to the Jaguars job, along with former Titans GM Jon Robinson and Greenberg. While Liam Coen has a major say in who will run Jacksonville’s front office, Jones notes that the new GM will be considered the “primary football executive.” This means the eventual front office leader won’t answer to VP of Football Operations Tony Boselli, who the team officially hired earlier today.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Tee Higgins

February 1st, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Adam La Rose

Plenty of time remains for the Bengals to prevent Tee Higgins from reaching the open market. As things stand, though, he is on track to be the top wideout available in free agency and one of the most in-demand players at any position in 2025.

Higgins played out this past campaign on the franchise tag (making him the only recipient from 2024 who did not wind up signing a long-term deal). That is usually an indication a free agent departure is likely, and this case is believed to be no exception. Provided Cincinnati is unable to hammer out a big-ticket contract in the near future, Higgins will likely be in line for one of the league’s latest monster WR deals.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports an expectation is in place around the league that the 26-year-old’s next contract could be similar to those signed by Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins) and DeVonta Smith (Eagles) last spring. Waddle’s pact checks in at an annual average value of $28.25MM, while Smith’s contains a total guarantee of nearly $70MM (including $51MM in new locked-in compensation). Graziano notes Higgins could surpass those figures if he reaches the market and a bidding war ensues.

Taking things a step further, colleague Jeremy Fowler adds that many view the Clemson product’s ceiling as being at or above $30MM per year. A pact slightly outpacing Smith’s $25MM AAV is considered the starting point for a Higgins pact, but it would come as little surprise if the figure would up being notably higher. The 2025 free agent class is not teeming with young options at the WR spot in particular, so teams with excess cap space could make a serious run at signing him. The Patriots have already been named as a suitor to watch in that regard.

Higgins has surpassed 900 yards in four of his five Bengals campaigns, proving to be an effective Ja’Marr Chase complement along the way. The latter is in need of an extension, though, and resetting the receiver market (which Justin Jefferson moved to $35MM per year last offseason) may well be necessary to get a deal done. 2024 NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson is also due a raise, one the Bengals feel they are prepared to pay.

Taking care of those priorities while also managing the cap implications of Joe Burrow‘s $55MM-per-year extension and finding the funds for Higgins will be difficult. Burrow has repeatedly campaigned for the former second-rounder to be high on the team’s to-do list, and de facto general manager Duke Tobin recently spoke about keeping Higgins. Finding the “right number” for a pact to keep him in Cincinnati will – by Tobin’s own admission – be difficult considering the deal he could command from outside parties, however.

Jefferson and five other wideouts (CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyreek Hill and Brandon Aiyuk) are attached to a deal worth at least $30MM annually. Higgins’ track record does not place him in the same category as those All-Pros, and the fact he has missed five games in both of the past two years could give certain suitors pause this spring. Still, the opportunity to secure a genuine No. 1 wideout (as he would be expected to operate as) in his prime is one teams in need of upgrading through the air will have a hard time passing up.

Higgins’ 2024 tag was worth $21.82MM, so using a second tag would cost the Bengals $26.82MM. Without the ability of spreading out the cap hit generated by that move, it should be considered unlikely at this point. The Bengals have not engaged in negotiations in quite some time, and the most recent known offer fell short of $20MM per year. How high the team is willing to go in the coming weeks will make for an intriguing storyline.

Other pending free agents at the WR position include Stefon Diggs, Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Higgins stands out compared to each of those names in terms of earning potential, whether he manages to secure a multi-year Bengals commitment or one sending him elsewhere for the first time in his career. Especially if he can approach the top of the position’s market as many feel he will, Higgins will represent the centerpiece of an acquiring team’s free agent efforts.

Bengals TE Erick All Expected To Miss 2025 Season

February 1st, 2025 at 11:49am CST by Ben Levine

Erick All missed half of the 2024 campaign after suffering the second torn ACL of his career. While there was natural hope that he’d be back on the field midway through the 2025 season, it now sounds like the Bengals tight end won’t play again until 2026.

According to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, All is expected to miss the entire 2025 season following complications from a previous knee surgery he underwent in college.

All suffered his first torn ACL back in 2023 while he was at the University of Iowa. When the tight end suffered his most recent tear, it was determined that his knee issues were “so severe” that he’d require two surgeries instead of the standard single procedure. According to Dehner, All has already gone under the knife once, and his upcoming surgery will effectively start the clock on the “traditional ACL recovery timeline.”

Injuries were a big reason why All fell to the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. Other than the aforementioned ACL tear, the tight end also suffered a back injury that ultimately required “life-changing” spine surgery (per Dehner). The Bengals are naturally treading lightly with the young player, and the current recovery strategy is intended to benefit “the long term of his career.”

All got into nine games (six starts) as a rookie, hauling in 20 catches for 158 yards. As Dehner writes, the player’s real production came as a blocker, with the Bengals slightly revising their run-blocking approach to accommodate All’s game-changing ability.

While the Bengals probably intended to pencil All in as their TE1 in 2025, the team will now have to look for another solution. With Mike Gesicki hitting free agency, the Bengals are currently eyeing a depth chart that consists of Drew Sample, Tanner McLachlan, and Cam Grandy.

Bengals Want To Re-Sign Tee Higgins At ‘Right Number’

January 30th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Duke Tobin has made definitive proclamations on Tee Higgins during each of the past two winters. The de facto Bengals GM declared his No. 2 wide receiver unavailable in trades at the 2023 Combine and then franchise-tagged him last year. Barring a second franchise tag, Higgins is poised to hit the market.

Higgins would vault to the top tier of this year’s free agent crop if not re-tagged, and although Joe Burrow has stumped for the Bengals to keep the high-end Ja’Marr Chase sidekick, Tobin’s latest comments do not point to that being the likely scenario. The veteran personnel exec said the Bengals want to retain Higgins; as could be expected, however, Tobin acknowledged the challenges this effort will bring.

“It’s going to be hard,” Tobin told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway on the subject of a Higgins re-signing. “We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they’re willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody. And you know what we do with Tee going forward, I’ve always been very upfront in my desire to have Tee Higgins on our team.

“I’ve never not been upfront about that, and that desire continues, but we have to be able to come together with his representation on what that means and what the right number is for his experience, for his play time, for his production.”

Considering where the wide receiver market has gone and the price hike Chase’s first-team All-Pro season likely will bring, the Bengals will have their work cut out for them regarding any effort to convince Higgins to take a discount. The team already denied the five-year veteran a chance to capitalize on his value in free agency last year, via the tag.

Higgins has changed agents and could certainly sign a deal north of $25MM per year on the open market. Where the cap settles will help shape Higgins’ price, but a two-time 1,000-yard pass catcher becoming available ahead of his age-26 season will ignite a bidding war. The Patriots are among the teams expected to be involved.

The last time true negotiations between the Bengals and Higgins transpired, the team submitted a below-market offer believed to be well south of even $20MM per year. The team has not conducted serious negotiations with Higgins since the first half of 2023; Higgins was the only tagged player last year not subsequently extended. Cincinnati is again free to do so, with the season having ended, and holds exclusive negotiating rights until March 10. But it would take a monster proposal for the Bengals to keep Higgins from testing free agency. Based on Tobin’s comments, it does not appear that should be expected.

“Let’s find something that works for everybody, because he is a guy that we want to have here, and hopefully that can come together, but we have other guys who are trying to take big bites of the apple in other areas, and we’re going to have to balance those as we go forward,” Tobin said.

Tobin did tell Conway he meets with Burrow to start each offseason, effectively keeping the superstar passer in the loop, but the exploding WR market — one that will be set to include a market-setting Chase extension before too long — may talk louder here. Although D.J. Moore is a more accomplished player, his $27.5MM-per-year Bears accord did not involve multiple suitors. Brandon Aiyuk‘s market did, to a degree, as the 49ers let him gauge the market in a complex process. That produced a $30MM-per-year deal with $76MM in total guarantees. That could be the price range for Higgins, as the market’s top five consists of first-team All-Pros. Higgins has yet to make a Pro Bowl.

Some execs are quite skeptical the Bengals, with the $55MM-AAV Burrow deal on their books, will pay Higgins market value, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler adds. With Chase almost definitely set to ask for more than Justin Jefferson‘s Vikings payday ($35MM per to go with $110MM guaranteed), it seems doubtful a Bengals franchise not known for lavish spending will pony up what is necessary.

A second tag would cost Cincinnati $26.2MM. While not too much has come out suggesting that is realistic, it would be a way for the Bengals to either reassess their options — after the team underachieved in 2024 — or obtain value in a trade. Projected to hold more than $46MM in cap space, the Bengals will have until March 4 to apply a second Higgins tag. Otherwise, the team could lose a core player for a mere 2026 compensatory pick.

Bengals Willing To Extend Trey Hendrickson

January 29th, 2025 at 5:38pm CST by Adam La Rose

Much of the conversation around the 2025 offseason for the Bengals has been centered on the receiver position. Tee Higgins is a pending free agent while Ja’Marr Chase is (still) eligible for a monster extension.

Finding clarity in both of those cases will be critical as the team looks to return to the postseason in 2025. Improving on defense will be key in reaching that goal, and a number of roster moves could be on tap as a result. One defender Cincinnati would be well-served in retaining is Trey Hendrickson, though, and doing so would be dependent on reaching an extension agreement. The team is prepared to authorize a raise to work out a new deal.

“Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension… he has,” Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin said of Hendrickson in an interview with Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’re cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is, is what is to be determined.”

Indeed, the latest round of negotiations could prove to be difficult given the history between team and player in this case. Hendrickson’s efforts to land a new deal (and accompanying raise) were unsuccessful last spring, and his trade request did not result in such a move being contemplated by Cincinnati. The 30-year-old did not engage in a holdout, though, electing to rely on his 2024 production to increase his leverage.

That plan certainly paid off. Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks with 17.5 this campaign, matching his career high in the process and earning first-team All-Pro honors. The four-time Pro Bowler is among the finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award, and winning it could add further to his case for a pay bump. As things stand, 2025 is set to be the final year of his contract.

Hendrickson is currently due $16MM in compensation with a cap hit of $18.67MM. None of his base salary is guaranteed, and landing new locked-in money will of course be a central goal in negotiations. 10 edge rushers are attached to a deal with a larger annual average value than Hendrickson’s, and the top of the market could soon change with Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt likely to receive new contracts. Micah Parsons could move to the top of the pecking order provided he and the Cowboys work out an extension.

The Bengals sit 10th in projected 2025 cap space as things stand, although things will no doubt change on that front as the new league year approaches. Finding the room to accommodate a lucrative new Hendrickson pact will be challenging but – considering his output since arriving as a free agent in 2021 – it would likely prove to be a worthwhile investment.

AFC Coaching Rumors: Rizzi, Broncos, Browns, Musgrave, Dolphins, Colts, Bengals

January 28th, 2025 at 8:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mickey Loomis has been linked to wanting to tie his to-be-determined next HC to some of Dennis Allen‘s contracted assistants, but Mike McCarthy may not see eye-to-eye with that approach. This has introduced one of the potential hurdles in McCarthy’s path back to New Orleans. McCarthy’s view could affect the Broncos‘ staff as well, as 9News’ Mike Klis notes that he or Kellen Moore landing the Saints’ HC job could well lead Darren Rizzi to rejoin Sean Payton in Denver. Before the coaching carousel started to spin, the Saints moving Rizzi from interim HC to another staff position — presumably back to the special teams coordinator role — was likely. But the Broncos are among the teams interested in poaching him if the Saints let the ex-Payton hire out of his deal. Rizzi and Payton coached together for three seasons.

The Broncos have seen two of their staffers — pass-game coordinator John Morton and tight ends coach Declan Doyle — become OCs elsewhere (Lions, Bears). But they are retaining Vance Joseph for a third season; DBs coach Jim Leonhard is also staying, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Leonhard is believed to have drawn DC interest from three teams, and while it is interesting that no interviews are taking place (as Denver cannot block them), the former Wisconsin DC and Broncos safety will stick around.

Here is the latest from the AFC coaching ranks:

The Browns kept their OC post internal, elevating Tommy Rees, and they will do the same with their QBs coaching role. The team interviewed Giants assistant QBs coach Christian Jones for the job, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets, but they are instead shifting veteran Bill Musgrave to that position (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). Musgrave, 57, is a six-time NFL OC — with the Eagles, Panthers, Jaguars, Vikings, Raiders and Broncos — and served as a senior offensive assistant on the past two Browns staffs. The Browns are backstopping their 32-year-old OC with considerable experience.
Former Cardinals and Giants DC James Bettcher has landed another gig under Lou Anarumo. The new Colts DC is adding Bettcher as linebackers coach, Pelissero tweets. Bettcher, 46, served as the Bengals’ LBs coach from 2022-24. He had previously headed up the Arizona and New York defenses in the 2010s but has since settled back on the positional level. This will also be a second tour of duty for Bettcher in Indianapolis; he coached under Chuck Pagano in 2012, before following Bruce Arians — Indy’s acting HC during Pagano’s cancer battle that year — to Arizona.
The Bengals will replace Bettcher with Mike Hodges, who will come over from the Saints. New Orleans had employed Hodges, 38, as its linebackers coach from 2020-24. Overall, Hodges spent eight seasons under Dennis Allen in the Big Easy, making it a bit interesting he is headed to Cincinnati than following Allen to Chicago.
Two new staffers are joining the Dolphins. Craig Aukerman is set to lead Miami’s ST units, Pelissero adds. An NFL staffer for 14 years, Aukerman spent 10 seasons with the Titans, staying on staff through four HCs. A 2023 game that featured two Tennessee punts blocked and standout punter Ryan Stonehouse suffering a serious knee injury led to Aukerman’s firing, and he did not coach in 2024. The Dolphins are also hiring Robert Prince as their wide receivers coach, per Pelissero. Prince has not previously coached under Mike McDaniel, but he has been an NFL assistant since 2004. After seven seasons with the Lions and a 2021 stop in Houston, he coached the Cowboys’ WRs for the past three years.
Circling back to Denver, the team is moving on from one of Joseph’s staffers. Greg Manusky will not be back as the Broncos‘ linebackers coach, Pelissero offers. The Broncos’ linebackers were perhaps the weak point on a top-five defense this season, though the unit lost top tackler Alex Singleton in Week 2. A four-time NFL DC, Manusky spent the past two seasons as Denver’s ILBs coach.

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