Trey Hendrickson reportedly has “no interest” in playing for Bengals under current deal
The contract standoff between the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson does not appear to be ending anytime soon…
As the Cincinnati Bengals commence OTAs, Trey Hendrickson is not present and likely won’t be for the foreseeable future.
Could this turn into a holdout that stretches not only into training camp but the regular season as well?
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler gave a brief update on Hendrickson, which did not paint a good picture of where things stand between the Bengals and their standout edge rusher.
There’s no update with defensive end Trey Hendrickson’s contract situation, which is at a stalemate. My read on the situation is that Hendrickson is convicted enough to stay away from the team, having no interest in playing on his scheduled $16 million salary in 2025. Right now this is a waiting game.
While it’s common practice for players to threaten holdouts that extend into the regular season, they rarely happen. That said, it doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Hendrickson in Cincinnati for training camp or the preseason unless a new deal is hammered out.
The Bengals reportedly want to get a deal done. However, based on Hendrickson’s comments, it doesn’t appear the team is close to making the kind of offer he’d consider as he enters his ninth NFL season and potentially his last major payday. He’s set to turn 31 years old in December.
When the Cincinnati Bengals opened up Phase 2 of their offseason program with voluntary OTAs on Tuesday, the vast majority of the team was onsite. They were missing a few, including Trey Hendrickson and Germaine Pratt, but the biggest name not in attendance was franchise quarterback Joe Burrow.
While it was never officially stated why he wasn’t in attendance (it is voluntary), it’s largely assumed it has a lot to do with the fact he was in New York City attending the Met Gala the night before.
Well, all is now right with the world, because Burrow is back, complete with his headband, and will be leading the quarterbacks through drills on Wednesday.
Burrow put up MVP-worthy stats in 2024, throwing for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions while completing just over 70 percent of his passes. Despite this, the Bengals finished the season with a 9-8 record and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Now, with all his weapons signed for the foreseeable future and an improved (hopefully) offensive line and defense, the work of correcting the mistakes of the 2024 season can begin.
