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Bengals Coach Drops Mystifying Injury Update on $30 Million Star

2025-12-02 11:14
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Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor has provided a rather mystifying injury update on one of the team's best players.

Matthew SchmidtBy Matthew Schmidt

Contributing Sports Writer

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Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson has not played since Oct. 26 due to a rather peculiar injury situation that has been given a variety of different labels. Back, pelvis, hip, core muscle injury, sports hernia, you name it.

The Bengals have not placed Hendrickson on injured reserve, basically leaving the door open for him to return on a week-to-week basis ... except he hasn't played in over a month.

Read more: Commanders Linked to Huge WR Move Amid Brutal Season

Head coach Zac Taylor provided an update on Hendrickson's status heading into Cincinnati's Week 14 matchup with the Buffalo Bills, and it was more of the same, with Taylor calling the star pass rusher "week to week."

As for whether or not Hendrickson would return this season?

“We’ll just keep taking it week-to-week,” Taylor said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Taylor added that Hendrickson has been doing "mostly rehab stuff with the trainers" when asked whether or not the 31-year-old was working behind the scenes during team meetings.

Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals...

Remember: Hendrickson and the Bengals engaged in quite the contract standoff during the offseason, with Hendrickson finally agreeing to a one-year, $30 million reworked contract — essentially a small pay bump — just before the 2025 campaign began.

In seven games this season, Hendrickson has logged 16 tackles and four sacks, which comes on the heels of the former third-round pick posting back-to-back 17.5-sack campaigns in 2023 and 2024.

Hendrickson is slated to hit free agency after the season, and at this point, it would be hard to imagine him returning to Cincinnati.

The Florida Atlantic product began his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints in 2017 and spent four years there before signing with the Bengals in 2020, where he has since broken out to become one of the best pass rushers in the league.

Read more: Chiefs’ Andy Reid Sends Incredibly Weird Warning to NFL

Hendrickson has made four straight Pro Bowl appearances and has totaled 61 sacks in 72 games with Cincinnati.

The Bengals are just 4-8 on the season and have seen their playoff hopes completely fade.

For more on the Cincinnati Bengals and general NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.

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