CINCINNATI — Trey Hendrickson said a lot of things Tuesday while wearing an outfit that resembled a trip to the golf course more than it did offseason workout fields outside Paycor Stadium.
Mostly, Hendrickson – in a 23-minute therapy session – let everyone know that he didn’t appreciate getting a text from Zac Taylor (presumably on behalf of ownership and the organization) that if he doesn’t show up at mandatory minicamp in June, he will be fined. That text prompted the statement released to national media outlets that there has been “no communication” between his side and the team with regard toward a contract extension since the end of the draft.
In a nutshell, Hendrickson feels there’s a narrative out there that he should keep quiet and play under the current contract that he signed in 2023 to extend his deal through the 2025 season (at approximately $21 million). His response? The team promised him that if he produced in 2023 and 2024 at levels that warranted a reworking, the team would gladly sit down and try to hammer it out. That promise, according to Hendrickson on Tuesday, has not been kept.
Here’s some of what Hendrickson had to say:
“A little bit transpired between me and Zac. We’ve tried to keep it as least amount as personal as possible, but at some point in this process it’s becomes personal. Being sent 30 days before mandatory camp or how many ever days it is that if I don’t show up I will be fine alludes to the fact that something won’t get done in that time frame. With the lack of communication post draft made it imminently clear to my party – meaning my wife, my son and my agent, a small group of people – that I had inform that this might not work out. I don’t think it was necessary. I think we should have all hoped for the best until proven otherwise. Other things have transpired like the importance of me being here in OTAs doesn’t seem to be respected. I think I’ve carried a lot of respect. I don’t mean to insinuate anything about anyone’s character, but that was disappointing. I think that was the word of the offseason. We gave it all our all under Lou’s defense and we did fall short. That’s about being a man, too, is standing up.”
Does he feel the organization has his back?
“They’ve had my back since free agency originally, coming out of New Orleans with a lot of question marks around my name,” Hendrickson told me. “So, to say they don’t have my back is not true. I think they do. I think they’ve done right by their own perspective. My perspective unfortunately is a little different.”
Starting in 2023 what went into the decision to sign the extension then?
“So, a little bit of what’s happening now foreshadows that year. I had that offer four months before I agreed to it. It wasn’t something that I rush to the altar, it was something that aligned with my family’s goals at the time. It gave us a little bit of ability to plan our family, another year to see where I’ll be, and that aligned with the goals that I had, for my career here in Cincinnati. So, And with the fact that the Bengals never did that before, I carried that as respect as well. And I knew that if I outplayed that the same respect will be given as it continues. So, that is something that would have happened, anyway. I think if I did not take that deal, we’re talking franchise tagging the 30 year-old, right? That’s the magic number. That would be more me than another player, coming off the two back-to-back seasons. If I did not take an extension, I doubt I would be able to walk away in free agency free.”
What was last time any numbers were exchanged?
“That’s a difficult question, too, right? Because it goes on like the meetings that we’ve had prior to, right? I have a tremendous amount of respect for the ability to be in meetings with them behind closed doors and what was conveyed of the vision of what I would be in this organization would be if I continue to play at the level I am, that the door would be open to continue long-term discussions about contracts. So it’s one of those things that they were just not seeing eye-to-eye on the structure. It seems that a shorter deal is something that they are pushing pretty hard. That puts us in the same place I was in 2022, where I have to renegotiate the next year because if goals are the same, and playing at a better level than I did last year, then next year, we’re just kicking, the can down the road. So, it’s something where I think both parties should understand that a long-term contract with guarantees that I can continue to play at the level that I have been is a mutual respect where that’s where my values lie, and it also allows me to stop having to negotiate every offseason about something that has been almost four years of doing.”
Hendrickson spent most of the hour-long workout Tuesday standing on the rehab fields, speaking with Bengals officials and coaches and public relations staff to determine how best to handle this. It was determined to let Hendrickson have his say. Now, the Bengals front office has heard it, Hendrickson feels the ball is in their court. The next move is presumably up to the Bengals.
* He does not plan on playing under current 1-year, $21 million deal
* He doesn’t want to “kick the can” down the road with a short-term deal that the team is offering “That puts us in the same position as 2022. Both parties should understand long-term contract is (about) mutual respect.”
* He received a text from Zac Taylor on Monday threatening him with fines if he didn’t show at mandatory minicamp in June.
* That text angered Hendrickson and triggered his statement on Monday to the national media.
* He said he still has a good relationship with Taylor.
* He reiterated that he has had no communication from the team since the Draft.
* He is glad that Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins got their deals.
* He still loves Cincinnati and wants to remain here if possible.
* He doesn’t feel there’s been enough of an effort to communicate with him, his wife and agent.
