2025 NFL Combine Day 1: Insider notes on Shedeur Sanders, Abdul Carter skipping workouts, and Trey Hendrickson’s future

The 2025 NFL Combine kicked off Tuesday with the first group of players undergoing medical exams while head coaches and general managers addressed the throngs of media on hand. Teams also interviewed players and spoke with player reps about their clients' futures.

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MULTIPLE PLAYERS LOOKING TO EXTEND DEALS

Syndication: The Enquirer - Source: Imagn

Which players going into the final year of their contract could be extended this offseason? There are several, and many will begin negotiations this week in Indianapolis.

Let’s start with Denver Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton. The 2019 Pro Bowl wideout has spent his entire career in Denver and is in the final year of a contract that will pay him a base salary of $13.5 million, according to Spotrac.com.

The franchise had an opportunity to extend Sutton prior to the 2024 season, but they instead chose to restructure by adding incentives to his existing deal that triggered escalator bonuses based on performance.

Sutton responded with one of the best seasons of his career, catching 81 passes for 1,081 yards and eight TDs, and it’s going to cost the team a lot more to keep him past 2025 compared to what the numbers would’ve been one year ago.

Since last July, the franchise extended the contracts of Garett Bolles, Patrick Surtain, Jonathon Cooper, and Quinn Meinerz, and everyone agrees Sutton deserves his share of the pie. During the Shrine Bowl, the rumor was that Denver would offer Sutton a contract paying upwards of $25 million to annually to remain a Bronco, but expect more detail this week.

Texans pass rusher Danielle Hunter is another who will look to extend his deal. The former Minnesota Viking signed a two-year deal worth $49 million with Houston last March, and sources say he will be looking at an extension that pays him over $30 million annually after a 12-sack season in 2024 that earned him a Pro Bowl berth.

T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers is also in the final year of the four-year, $112 million contract he signed in 2022. Watt has combined for 30.5 sacks the past two seasons, winning Pro Bowl and various All-Pro honors each year. Sources say an extension now would award Watt somewhere in the range of $35 to $37 million annually.

Finally, Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals has tried to get a long-term extension to stay in Cincinnati for a while, even after the team added one year to his deal back in 2023, a deal that ends after this season. One of the best pass rushers in the league, Hendrickson combined for 35 sacks the past two seasons and is in line for a contract that will pay in excess of $30 million annually.

The situation for Hendrickson is a bit more complex, as Bengals receiver Tee Higgins also has one year left on his contract, while Ja’Marr Chase is in the fifth and final year of his rookie deal. Sources tell me that if the Bengals can’t meet his asking price, there’s a very good chance the team will part ways with Hendrickson and trade him.

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PLAYERS OPTING OUT OF COMBINE WORKOUTS

NCAA Football: Fiesta Bowl-Penn State at Boise State - Source: Imagn

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders announced he will opt out of Combine workouts and not throw for teams until Colorado’s pro day. Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter, who struggled with a shoulder injury through the College Football Playoff, has also said he will bypass Combine workouts in favor of pro day.

I am aware of close to a half-dozen players from the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes who won’t work out in Indianapolis or who are currently leaning towards waiting for pro day, which takes place March 26.

Fifteen players from Ohio State received Combine invitations, a record for the event. Yet, many of these players are still banged up from their season and playoff run that lasted 16 games and ended on January 20.

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