Bengals, Cowboys slammed over Hendrickson, Parsons contract talks

Dan Patrick criticized Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for how the two NFL owners have managed contract extension talks with their teams’ star pass rushers.

From Cincinnati’s perspective, the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson remain at odds over a contract extension, with talks taking a turn for the worse this offseason. The 30-year-old pass rusher, coming off back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons, has been pushing for long-term security but hasn’t gotten it.

Brown recently spoke to the media and noted that the Bengals are offering Hendrickson a raise, but it hasn’t been enough for the two sides to come to an agreement. On Tuesday, Patrick weighed in on the Bengals and Cowboys falling short in extending Hendrickson and Micah Parsons.

“If you’re going to eventually pay these players, why have any acrimony?” Patrick said on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “Why not just... We know that Jerry Jones is going to pay Micah Parsons, right? I have a hunch the Bengals will pay Trey Hendrickson. Now, I’m sure they’re saving money. I’m sure that they have some business strategy here that I, of course — with my, of course, with my limited education — wouldn’t understand.”

"If you're going to eventually pay these players, why have any acrimony?"

– DP reacts to #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and #Bengals owner Mike Brown speaking out against long-term extensions. pic.twitter.com/XuLXcayFcP

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 22, 2025

Patrick focused on the Bengals as part of the criticism, noting that Cincinnati have invested a lot of money on offense, but need people to stop the opposition. As a result, for Patrick, it doesn’t make sense that the Bengals are playing hardball with the only reliable pass rusher on the defensive line for a team with playoff aspirations.

MORE:Bengals' Trey Hendrickson breaks silence on leaving Cincinnati for Florida during contract talks

“Why have this back and forth?” Patrick added. “It just doesn’t help the tone of the team. The Bengals should be thinking about, 'Hey, how do we make the playoffs this year?' 'Hey, we need a little defense if we’re going to make the playoffs.' 'Hey, we spent all this money on offense. Can we stop anybody?'

“There are going to be a lot of shootouts there with the Bengals. Why not just have Trey Hendrickson and whatever you’re going to give him, three-year deal? Now, I know he’s four years—I think four years—older than Micah Parsons. He’s not Micah Parsons, good at what he is paid to do. It’s just the Bengals are notoriously cheap with this, and that’s unfortunate.”

Week 1 is right around the corner for the Bengals. It will be interesting to see if the team and Hendrickson can get a deal done in the next few weeks.