It was just yesterday that Cincinnati Bengals‘ owner Mike Brown was holding an introductory training camp press conference. As one could imagine, the bulk of his comments were centered around what players weren’t attending and why. He talked – of course – about defensive end Trey Hendrickson and his contract standoff and now it seems like things are worse than they were yesterday.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that talks didn’t go so well in the last day or so (no word on whether or not Brown’s comments affected him or not) and Hendrickson now seems to be in Florida.
“Long-term extension talks between the #Bengals and star Trey Hendrickson broke down over guaranteed money before camp… and Hendrickson has now indicated he left the state,” Rapoport posted on X. “He just posted this on Instagram:”
For those of you who don’t follow football closely, the Cincinnati Bengals don’t actually hold training camp in Florida. It’s true; it’s actually in Cincinnati right next to Paycor Stadium. So, it doesn’t look like Hendrickson will be there any time soon.
Manti Te’o says Hendrickson is pretty heated
After 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons (he led the entire NFL in 2024), Hendrickson probably feels like he’s given a lot to the Bengals. The defense was ranked 25th last year and if it wasn’t for Hendrickson it might have been 33rd. He was literally the only guy on that side of the ball acting like he wanted to be there.
Everyone agrees that the $16 million he’s due this season is well below market value. Many would agree that he should be averaging in the $35 million-per-year range. According to Manti Te’o on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Tuesday, it doesn’t sound like the Brown family is offering anywhere near that.
“On @gmfb, Manti Te’o says he spoke with Trey Hendrickson, who said of the #Bengals’ offer and specifically guarantees: “They are atrociously, atrociously low,” Tom Pelissero posted on X. “Hendrickson has made clear he won’t play on the last year of his current deal, which is worth $16 million in 2025.”
This is bad; they aren’t even close. Without knowing where Hendrickson is and what Brown is offering, it’s tough to speculate about which side needs to bend, but someone is going to have to at some point.
What did the Cincinnati Bengals’ owner say yesterday?
On the surface it doesn’t seem like Hendrickson would have been irritated by something Brown said on Monday. It was pretty standard owner-player speak filled with things like ‘we like him’ and ‘we want to get a deal done’ stuff.
“It’s been a long negotiation,” Brown said. “Trey Hendrickson is a fine player. He’s a good guy. We want him here. Dealing with him is sometimes not so easy, and that’s all right. He’s got the right to argue his case. We’ll try to make sense of it from our perspective. We’ll see. I’m not persuaded that it isn’t going to get done. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”
Perhaps the next part could haver ruffled Hendrickson’s feathers? One wouldn’t think so, but tensions are probably pretty high and everyone is frustrated so the smallest spark could start a raging inferno.
“We offered him one, but keep in mind, Trey is signed for this season,” Brown said when asked whether Hendrickson deserved a raise. “Foolishly maybe, we offered him one, a raise. But anyway, he deserves a raise, he did well, and he played effectively. He’s important to us.”
That doesn’t sound too incendiary, but the word “foolish” getting in there might not sit the same when read in print. Who knows?
Trey Hendrickson’s Blunt Response to Bengals’ “Atrociously Low” Offers