Trey Hendrickson mentioned Tuesday that he will not play for the Cincinnati Bengals this season underneath his present contract in an obvious escalation of his dispute with the staff.
The Bengals’ star move rusher appeared on the staff’s voluntary exercises Tuesday — not in uniform — and addressed reporters, a day after he launched a press release to ESPN’s Adam Schefter through which he mentioned the staff has reduce off contract talks with him.
Hendrickson mentioned Tuesday he is dissatisfied with the Bengals’ lack of communication and that the scenario has turn into “private.” Nevertheless, he indicated his relationship with the staff can nonetheless be repaired.
He mentioned he felt prompted to deal with the media after coach Zac Taylor communicated to him that he can be fined if he would not attend the staff’s three-day obligatory minicamp, which is not scheduled to start till June 10. He mentioned the message “alludes to the truth that one thing will not get completed in that time-frame.”
Hendrickson, 30, is coming into the ultimate 12 months of his contract and is coming off his finest season within the NFL. He led the league with 17.5 sacks final season and was named to the Related Press All-Professional staff, marking one of many Bengals’ first choices to the record since 2015. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati’s different All-Professional choice final season, obtained a brand new $161 million contract this offseason that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league historical past.
Hendrickson has made the Professional Bowl in every of his 4 seasons with Cincinnati. In 2023, he was given a one-year extension on the four-year, $60 million deal he signed as a free agent in 2021. Final offseason, he requested a commerce after the staff opted to not give him a brand new deal. He finally reported for voluntary exercises.
Hendrickson is about to earn $15.8 million in base wage this season, the ultimate 12 months of his contract. In an look on “The Pat McAfee Present” final month, Hendrickson mentioned that he is not in search of to turn into the NFL’s highest-paid defensive finish.
