NFL reigning sacks leader Trey Hendrickson said Tuesday that he will not play the upcoming season with the Cincinnati Bengals on his current contract.
When asked by a reporter if he would sit out regular-season games if a deal isn’t reached, Hendrickson didn’t miss a beat.
“Well, I can raise a hypothetical with a hypothetical. I wouldn’t be standing here with you if I got the deal in January,” the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end said after the team’s latest workout at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
“To say I’m going to sit out or to say I’m not going to, what I can say is that I’m very disappointed with the communication that’s been had …. Former players have walked in these shoes, and what it foreshadows is not something I’m excited about to tell my wife and my family — like, hey I’m getting good vibes or should be happy. Those comments stink.
“… There’s no other organization knows me better than this one. They watch me as an individual, they see how I carry myself as a human being and they know me. So it stinks when the value is somewhere else.”
Hendrickson said that a “lack of communication leads to animosity, and that leaves (me) with no clear direction.”
Hendrickson also noted that Bengals head coach Zac Taylor texted him that he’d be fined if does not participate in the team’s mandatory workout in minicamp from June 10-12
“A little bit transpired between me and Zac,” Hendrickson said. “We’ve tried to keep it the least amount personal as possible. But at some point in this process, it becomes personal. Being sent 30 days before mandatory camp, or however many days it is that if I don’t show up, I will be fined, alludes to the fact that something won’t get done in that time frame, and that, with the lack of communication post-draft made it evidently clear from my party, meaning my wife, my son, my agent, right? Like we’re talking a small group of people, that I had to inform (them) that this might not work out.
“And that’s unfortunate. I don’t think it was necessary. I think we all should have hoped for the best until proven otherwise.”
Hendrickson, 30, led the NFL and matched his career high with 17.5 sacks in 17 starts last season, adding 46 tackles and 36 quarterback hits with two forced fumbles.
He has one year remaining on a contract extension he signed in 2023 with a base salary of $15.8 million for 2025.
Negotiations reportedly resumed in March after the Bengals signed wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to extensions worth $161 million and $115 million, respectively.
Hendrickson’s market value has climbed this offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders signing Maxx Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million deal and the Cleveland Browns keeping Myles Garrett with a four-year, $160 million contract.
Hendrickson has made the Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons in Cincinnati. He has 77 career sacks in 110 games (81 starts) with the New Orleans Saints (2017-20) and Bengals.
–Field Level Media
