Trey Hendrickson speaks out on potential contract holdout

This cannot become a distraction going into training camp.

Regardless of whose side you’re on, the situation with Cincinnati Bengals star All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is not a good one. It simply cannot linger into training camp.

Just one day after Hendrickson made a statement to ESPN in which he said, in part, that “No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post-draft,” the four-time Pro Bowler showed up at Bengals practice today to speak to local reporters and confirmed he would not play under his current deal.

“I wouldn’t be standing here with you if I got the deal in January,” Hendrickson said.

In his statement Monday, Hendrickson referenced the vision he and the Bengals front office shared if he continued playing at a high level. Over his last two seasons, Hendrickson has 35 sacks. That’s 17.5 sacks in both seasons. Ask yourself this question: Why wouldn’t those numbers get a player of Hendrickson’s caliber a contract extension?

“What I can say is I’m very disappointed with the communication that’s been had,” Hendrickson said Tuesday at Bengals practice. “Former players have walked in these shoes, and what it foreshadows is not something I’m excited about to tell my wife and family.”

Hendrickson is referencing what edge rushers like Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa have all gone through to earn lucrative contract extensions in recent seasons.

It’s clear Hendrickson wants to remain in Cincinnati. Ever since arriving here in 2021, Hendrickson has more than lived up to the expectations that came with the contract he signed in free agency four years ago.

Going into his age 31 season, this is about Hendrickson being somewhere where he can finish his career, start a family, and, ultimately, retire.

“That’s what makes [Cincinnati] so special,” Hendrickson said. “They watch me every day. They see how hard I work. There’s no other organization that knows me better than this one.

“It stinks when the value is somewhere else because I was fortunate enough to have that trade request granted. It gave me the fortunate circumstance to see my value elsewhere, and I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that. I truthfully will put my hope in that.”

What Hendrickson said in the above video could not have been said that better or more eloquently. He is standing on business, and I respect that.

Hendrickson didn’t have to show up at practice to talk with the media Tuesday. He did. He wants to make it very clear what he meant by Monday’s statement.

Hendrickson wants to be a Bengal, but he knows his worth. The Bengals better figure that out before a not-so-positive resolution comes from the ongoing soap opera of Treys of our Lives. He is worth a contract extension, regardless of how the Bengals feel about it and the way they’re going about this on the business side of it. It’s the football side that matters the most, at least it should be that way.

If no deal is reached, don’t expect to see Hendrickson on the practice field anytime soon.