Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson: "There's no way I would be able to sit there in the house and hear the practice whistles while also being a distraction."
When Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor addressed the topic of starting training camp without veteran defensive end Trey Hendrickson and rookie Shemar Stewart, he told reporters it's "newsworthy certainly" but that there will "be no distraction" and "it's nothing for us."
Hendrickson, who is assessed a mandatory fine of $50,000 for each day of camp he misses, posted a photo from a Florida highway on Instagram as his teammates reported to camp.
Hendrickson explained his decision to train in Jacksonville to The Athletic's Dianna Russini.
"I spent the last 30 days at my home in Cincinnati, which is across the river from the stadium," Hendrickson said, per Russini. "We were given two offers within a 24-hour period, and (neither) of them had the guarantees we were looking for. I wanted to be there, but there's no way I would be able to sit there in the house and hear the practice whistles while also being a distraction. I don't want to ruin the other 10 guys' 2025 season on my contract language. … I was more than willing to take less in some ways in order to make a deal work to accommodate the presented needs. I verbalized to the Bengals that I wanted to be a captain, to lead a young defense. And once rookie Shemar Stewart gets back at camp, I want to pass along the knowledge that I have, just like Cam Jordan once did for me. As I see it, Shemar and I are not competitors, we're teammates. I'm excited to go to work with him when the time comes."
Bengals president Mike Brown discussed negotiations with Hendrickson earlier in the week: "I think (a deal) will get done. We offered him one. He deserves a raise. He did well. He's important to us. … We never have an easy time of it. But there's one thing that is consistent. It always gets done."
Hendrickson, who didn't win AP Defensive Player of the Year honors last season despite leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks, is under contract with the Bengals for another season, and is set to earn $16 million if there's no extension. The Pittsburgh Steelers recently extended defensive star TJ Watt for three years and $123 million, with $108M guaranteed.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals' Taylor: Trey Hendrickson training camp holdout no distraction
Category: Football
