As Trey Hendrickson meets the media, actions speak louder than words

The Bengals huddled up around Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor in the middle of practice on Tuesday, and the head coach addressed the team. Forty yards away, Trey Hendrickson was walking down the sideline wearing a golf polo and slacks.

The Bengals broke that huddle and then went on to continue some drills. Hendrickson walked over to the far end zone, where the media is allowed to stand. With receivers running routes and offensive linemen working on blocking techniques behind him, Hendrickson took questions for 20 minutes.

Hendrickson’s answers were revealing, insightful and candid. He addressed specific reporters by name and was as cordial as the typically media shy Hendrickson ever has been.

But by definition, Hendrickson was being a distraction. Instead of watching practice, we were talking with Hendrickson. And the players who were practicing looked over with puzzled looks as the media gathered around the All-Pro.

“I think there are a lot of questions, comments, concerns I as a man am willing to answer,” Hendrickson said. “I've gone through this with my wife and want to leave and example for my son to face adversity head on, whatever it looks like - good, bad, ugly.”

We’re in the era of team-branded content in Cincinnati. Press conferences are live streamed. A team employed video staff participates in most media scrums with a large boom mic and multiple cameras. The social media teams sprints around the practice field to make sure they don’t miss anything. Outdoor interviews are always accompanied by a team backdrop.

This time, with Hendrickson, there was none of that. Instead of talking to the media at a podium or in the locker room, Hendrickson was out on the field.

What I’ll remember most from the interview today was the visual of Hendrickson speaking with practice going on behind him.

“I speak the truth,” Hendrickson said. “I'm ready to answer like you guys have great questions and I appreciate them. And this has been a tremendous blessing to have a platform to voice that.”

Long story short, Hendrickson wants a new long-term contract with guaranteed money. The Bengals, he says, have been pushing for a short term deal. Hendrickson has one view of his value — see Myles Garrett or Danielle Hunter, and the Bengals have another view.

Realistically, only two things matter.

Will the Bengals change their mind?

Or will Hendrickson play the 2025 season without a new deal?

Hendrickson essentially said no to both of those questions.

“They have the ability to say they've done right by me,” Hendrickson said. “And that's okay with my family. If that's the way it goes, so be it. I'm not going to apologize for the rates of the defensive ends being paid in the National Football League.”

“Selling myself short is not something I planned on doing in that process."

Hendrickson took some shots on Tuesday. He made a nice comment about fired DC Lou Anarumo. He said he’s “trying to lead the 27th best defense in the country to win a Super Bowl.” He said that if he only had four sacks last season, then the Bengals would probably asking him for a pay cut like they did with Geno Stone.

The biggest shot was at Zac Taylor, who texted Hendrickson that he’d be fined if he missed mini camp (like any player would).

"A little bit transpired between me and Zac,” Hendrickson said. “We've tried to keep it as least amount as personal as possible, but at some point in this process it's becomes personal. Being sent 30 days before mandatory camp or how many ever days it is that if I don't show up I will be fine alludes to the fact that something won't get done in that time frame.”

The Bengals have made several mistakes here. Like they always do, they were too indecisive. They should have paid Hendrickson or traded him in March, back when they had the flexibility to replace him in free agency. I still believe that the Bengals should have traded Trey. But they waited, and now they have another contract headache on their hands.

Then, lacking communication from the front office is the theme that ties most of the Bengals’ stars to the front office.

The Bengals also sent the message to the young players practicing who were watching Hendrickson speak to the media in their peripheral vision that the business side of this game is never easy with this team.

“There's no other organization that knows me better than this one,” Hendrickson said. “They've watched me in individual, they see how I carry myself as a human being and they know me, so it stinks.”

Hendrickson is also out on a limb as the only star in the NFL who’s trying to negotiate a big contract through the media.

“A lot of players in the past have been silent or didn't stand on values, where telling the truth will set you free,” Hendrickson said. “It's a value my parents raised me with when I was young. As a follower of Christ, the truth is the way. So to have these tough conversations and say the truth, I'm a Floridian. So there's unprovoked shark attacks and there's provoked shark attacks.”

The Bengals shouldn’t have let Hendrickson get this unhappy because they still need him to contend in 2025, as Hendrickson so kindly pointed out. Realistically, the only way to repair this relationship is by handing Hendrickson a big check. But that doesn’t seem to be in the works.

So right now, both sides are stuck and frustrated. Right now, there’s nothing that Hendrickson can do except for talk and try to get his point across.

“This is just the uncomfortable business side that we've unfortunately had to deal with for the last couple years,” Hendrickson said. “Quite frankly, I think we're all spent.”