It shouldn't have come to this, but we're not surprised.
When Trey Hendrickson showed up to speak to the media about his contract situation, all eyes were on the Cincinnati Bengals star pass rusher.
He said quite a lot during his time with the media, and to be frank, he handled himself extremely well. Hendrickson was poised, relaxed and calm throughout every question he answered.
However, one particular illustration caught fans' attention more than any other, and it sent a strong message to the organization.
"I'm a Floridian. So, there's unprovoked shark attacks and provoked shark attacks ... this is not something where I'm just twiddling my thumbs thinking, 'oh, how can I get the next one-up?'" he said.
Trey Hendrickson's contract situation turning ugly should be no surprise to Bengals fans
"Most of my teammates will agree. I don't spare my opinions. I kind of stay out of the media for that reason. I'm an emotional player ... these things are provoked."
Hendrickson is not wrong. The way the Bengals have handled this entire saga is one way to provoke an otherwise-calm player such as he.
Yet, this isn't the first time the Bengals have seen it come to an ugly turn with a star player. Hendrickson even alluded to the fact that it got ugly last year with his teammate, Ja'Marr Chase.
"I would love to say 'to sit quiet is a good strategy.' It's clearly not. Players have done it all over the league, including Ja'Marr last year. He did a great job being disciplined through the process," he noted.
Things did, indeed, get ugly with Chase last year. Heck, things nearly spiraled out of control with Tee Higgins as well. That situation didn't exactly go over smoothly, either.
The Bengals have made a habit with allowing these situations to last longer than they should. If Cincinnati wants to keep Hendrickson around, now is the time to speak up if you're Duke Tobin.
There is no excuse for Tobin not to address Hendrickson's status as early as this week. In fact, it should be mandatory for him to do so.
Otherwise, the Bengals are about to see their top defensive player either sit out the season or they'll have no other choice but to trade him.
