Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson appeared on the sidelines of a practice this week and gave a 20-plus-minute interview related to his current contract standoff with the team.
In the wake of those comments, which painted Hendrickson as a player attempting to finally control the narrative amid frustration with the team’s lack of communication, ESPN’s Adam Schefter added some new details of his own.
According to Schefter, the Bengals haven’t bothered to return Hendrickson’s phone calls.
“[Trey Hendrickson is] frustrated because the team has not only not returned his phone calls since the draft,” Schefter said, “but [the Bengals] obviously had comments to make at the owners meetings.”
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If that’s true, it makes it a tad more understandable that a text from Bengals head coach Zac Taylor about fines during mandatory minicamp is what prompted Hendrickson to show up and give the interview in the first place.
Schefter is referring to comments made by the Bengals front office about contract negotiations with Hendrickson.
Hendrickson remains adamant that he doesn’t want a short-term deal and feels he was promised an extension if he played well before leading the NFL in sacks last season. Earlier this offseason, the team granted him permission to seek a trade that never materialized.
If nothing else, Hendrickson is in town and this summer’s training camp remains the logical, likely point where this saga comes to an end, one way or the other.
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