The Cincinnati Bengals have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to decide whether to place the franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson. If tagged, the defensive end would earn $30.2 million for the 2026 season. If not, he would be a free agent next week.

The situation remains unresolved, and a potential tag-and-trade scenario has been explored, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.

“He is waiting to see whether or not the Bengals place the franchise tag on him today,” Schefter said on Tuesday, via “Get Up.” “They have not communicated that to him. He’s waiting to hear. There haven’t been any conversations. Trey Hendrickson (is) sitting back in Florida, waiting to hear one way or another what the Bengals want to do with him.

“I think the Bengals have checked around the league with the idea to see if teams would be interested in trading for Trey Hendrickson, in which case they would tag him and tag him to trade him. But I don’t think that they’ve sensed a lot of interest in trading for Trey Hendrickson that way. So, they have to make the decision about what to do today by four o’clock.”

Schefter added that the likely scenario would be Hendrickson leaving as a free agent.

“My guess, and it’s a guess because you don’t know what the Bengals, is he doesn’t get tagged and he’s allowed to leave as a free agent,” Shefter said. “But I know the Bengals have made calls about the tag and trade option. And I don’t think they’ve heard exactly what they would have wanted.”

Trey Hendrickson is under a restructured one-year deal in the 2025 season worth up to $30 million.

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Bengals unlikely to tag Trey Hendrickson, could pivot to Odafe Oweh

The Cincinnati Bengals are not expected to use the franchise tag on Trey Hendrickson, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“The sense at the end of the week is that Trey Hendrickson and (Chargers linebacker) Odafe Oweh will probably not be franchise-tagged,” Fowler wrote on Sunday. “That could change over the next 48 hours, but Oweh has not received any indication that he will be tagged, and most around the league would be surprised if the Bengals tag Hendrickson.”

If Hendrickson reaches free agency, Cincinnati could target Odafe Oweh, who had 7.5 sacks in 12 games last season with the LA Chargers. The linebacker also posted a 16.5% pass rush win rate. Contract projections range from $77 million to $88 million over four years.