Pro Football Rumors
The Bengals have developed an earned reputation as slow starters during Zac Taylor‘s time at the helm. This pattern has been a significant impediment to the team, one that began 0-3 last year and stood 0-2 to start the 2022 and ’23 seasons. With the team now having paid both its wide receiver standouts, more pressure will be on Taylor to have his crew ready to go when the season starts.
Trey Hendrickson‘s status suddenly factors into this equation. The Bengals’ top defensive player has gone public with his frustrations, with a Monday text from Taylor prompting a Tuesday grievance rundown. Hendrickson has officially threatened a holdout. Training camp holdouts have become more difficult to wage under the current CBA, leading to the hold-in tactic, but some players have bucked that trend and stayed away anyway.
CeeDee Lamb held out well into Cowboys camp last year, with Zack Martin doing the same in 2023. Trent Williams did the same, and teammate Nick Bosa held out in 2023 as well. All four of these Dallas- and San Francisco-based absences led to new contracts. Haason Reddick staged an unsuccessful holdout last year, eventually reporting to the Jets in late October and playing out the string.
The Chiefs went into the 2023 season with Chris Jones engaged in a holdout. After a Week 1 loss to the Lions, the Chiefs agreed to a temporary solution that brought the future Hall of Famer back into the fold. Kansas City then caved on a player-friendly deal for Jones two days before the 2024 free agency period began. Jones was 29 when he signed that monster Chiefs extension. By the time Hendrickson would be free agency-eligible, he will be 31. The All-Pro defensive end’s age represents a key component in his Bengals stalemate.
Few players have proven willing to pass on game checks to stage holdouts. Le’Veon Bell famously did on the franchise tag in 2018, while Duane Brown (2017) and Vincent Jackson (2010) sat out lengthy stretches as well. It is still too early to predict Hendrickson will follow suit, but ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes some close to the disgruntled pass rusher believe his contract stance would lead to him skipping regular-season games — should Cincinnati not reward its ace sack artist before Week 1.
As part of a one-year, $21MM extension he signed in 2023, Hendrickson is due a $15.8MM base salary this season. This works out to just more than $920K in game checks. Teams regularly win bets on players being unwilling to pass on game checks, but Hendrickson’s only play against the Bengals would be to withhold services. He managed Defensive Player of the Year runner-up status on one of the league’s worst defenses last season. Removing Hendrickson from the mix would certainly threaten a Bengals team committed to complementing Joe Burrow better than it did in 2024. That will be an interesting storyline to follow.
Although the Bengals let Hendrickson seek a trade just before free agency, [the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey...
