Trey Hendrickson talks progress, but the Bengals may have relented as far as they’ll go

Some progress made, but not enough just yet.

Trey Hendrickson has officially not reported to Cincinnati Bengals training camp and is currently in Florida, training and hoping the front office and his agent will finalize a deal sooner rather than later.

The round of contract talks leading up to training camp didn’t go very well, but the two sides have continued to talk, and there is ‘some’ good news coming out of that.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, ESPN reporter Adam Schefter said the Bengals essentially have an agreement in place with Hendrickson, so that seems promising.

However, the guaranteed money is what’s keeping this from crossing the finish line.

“The deal is in place, but there is a disagreement over the guaranteed money in the deal, and it’s a big disagreement so far,” said Schefter.

“Now, maybe the two sides can figure out a way to bridge their differences, but the Bengals typically have not guaranteed full deals. They did it for Joe Burrow. They did essentially for Ja’Marr Chase. They’re not willing to do it for Trey Hendrickson, so it’s up to the two sides to figure out what is the proper guarantee (amount).

“They could agree on the years. They could agree on the average. None of those are issues right now. The whole issue, the whole hang-up, and the reason that Trey Hendrickson still is in Florida today is over guaranteed money.”

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has also since reported that the two sides have made progress, but the Bengals may have relented as far as they’re willing to go.

“I’m told there actually has been some progress on this deal over the last week or two in certain parts of it, but this is an issue of guaranteed money,” Fowler said via Bleacher Report. “

“Hendrickson wants a stronger guaranteed structure, particularly later in what should be a multi-year deal. In talking to people with the Bengals, they feel like, ‘Hey, we’ve probably relented as far as we can go.’ So this is a classic stare-off right now, and it’s time to buckle up.”

The Bengals’ defense was the most significant contributor to one of the league’s best offenses getting locked out of the playoffs. The secondary gave up the second most plays of 40 or more yards, while the defensive front only mustered 36 sacks, 50% of which were from Hendrickson.

When Hendrickson wasn’t able to get to the passer, the quarterback was often able to sit in the pocket for what seemed like hours looking for a receiver downfield.

Considering Hendrickson’s age (he’ll be 31 in December), it seems as if the Bengals may be calling his bluff of sitting out, knowing it may end his career if he goes through with it. That’s not the best way to treat an All-Pro looking to lead their young defense and mentor a talented new player. Seems like an awful big risk, but that’s the norm around these parts.

In a division with Lamar Jackson and now Aaron Rodgers, and in a conference with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and several other talented quarterbacks, the Bengals cannot afford to mess around with their ability to rush the passer, which is already bad.

Hopefully, they can get out of their own way and get a deal done soon.