Cincinnati Bengals veterans reported to training camp on Tuesday, and Trey Hendrickson made it clear to fans that he was nowhere near the team at the time.
Hendrickson is set to make $16 million in base salary in the final year of his contract this season. The star pass-rusher has been seeking an extension and seems committed to not reporting to the team unless he gets one.
With Hendrickson’s teammates reporting to training camp on Tuesday, the 30-year-old shared a photo on his Instagram story that showed he was in Florida.
Obviously, Hendrickson can hop on a flight to Cincinnati anytime. But timing of the post likely was not a coincidence, especially since he made sure to tag the location.
Hendrickson told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday that he will not report to training camp without a new deal in place. The issues in negotiations is that the Bengals are reportedly not offering Hendrickson enough guaranteed money.
Bengals owner Mike Brown said on Monday that he remains confident the team will sign Hendrickson to an extension. The two sides appeared to be making progress about a month ago, but talks have since stalled.
Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting last year.
T.J. Watt, who is also 30, just signed a record extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers that will pay him an average of $41 million per year. That topped the new contract that Myles Garrett signed with the Cleveland Browns earlier in the offseason, which has an average annual value of $40 million.
Those deals have given Hendrickson tremendous leverage, especially with the stats he has compiled over the last two seasons. He remains determined to utilize that leverage, even if it results in the Bengals being able to fine him.
