There’s been no sign of progress on a new contract for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson in Cincinnati and that could lead to a change of address before the start of the regular season.
NFL Media reports that the Bengals are listening to trade offers for Hendrickson from other clubs. The Bengals gave Hendrickson permission to seek out a trade this offseason, but no deal came together.
Hendrickson skipped the team’s offseason program and the first few days of training camp before reporting. He has not practiced since rejoining the team and has said multiple times this offseason that he will not play out the year under the terms of his current contract.
Hendrickson is set to make $16 million under that pact, but is looking for a raise after recording 35 sacks over the last two seasons. Any team trading for him would need to take care of that desire while also satisfying the Bengals’ demands for compensation, so it’s far from a sure thing that there will be any more luck putting a swap together at this point in the calendar.
Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury essentially said it on Friday. And it apparently worked.
At some point, players who are holding in need to get to work.
It’s the biggest flaw in the half measure between holding out and caving in. If a player reports for camp but declines to practice until he gets a new deal, at some point he needs to either accept the deal that’s on the table or get to work.
Most teams seem to tolerate the deliberate decision to not practice pending negotiations on a new contract. No team has had to deal with a player refusing to practice during training camp — and then refusing to play during regular-season games.
Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin exited the Physically Unable to Perform list on Saturday. With or without a new deal, he knows it’s time to get ready for Week 1.
At some point, the player who refuses to work will be disciplined via a fine and/or suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. That could be the thing that got McLaurin to realize he was in checkmate.
So when will other players who are holding in do the same? Currently, the list (that we know of) includes Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, and Steelers kicker Chris Boswell. (Yes, a kicker is holding in.)
Parson and the Cowboys have the shortest fuse. They face the Cowboys in 19 days. Parsons, if he’s going to play, needs to be ready to go.
It means that he needs to be properly acclimated, in order to reduce the risk of injury. Of course, the risk of injury is minimized if Parsons doesn’t play.
Remember, he’s not sitting out as a business decision. He’s citing back tightness. If he’s willing to continue to ride that wave, he’ll be able to not play until he gets his new contract.
The Cowboys seem to be daring him to do it. Calling his bluff to see if he truly won’t play in Week 1 and beyond.
Regardless, if Parsons is going to play in Week 1, he needs to start getting ready soon.
Shemar Stewart didn’t mean to do it, but his bump into Joe Burrow set off a scuffle at practice Wednesday. The rookie edge rusher addressed what happened 48 hours later, saying “the ground gave way” under his foot on a stunt, and he lost his balance while rushing Burrow up the middle.
“I had my head down, and I couldn’t really see where I was going. All I knew is I was falling,” Stewart said Friday, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “Then the next you know. . . .”
Right guard Lucas Patrick defended his quarterback a few plays later, which center Ted Karras called a warranted response.
Stewart later apologized to Burrow.
“I said ‘You know, Joe, it was an accident. You know I never meant to do that,’” Stewart said. “He said, ‘It’s cool as long as you do it on Sundays, too.’ He kept it cool and short and sweet, and we just forgot about it.”
Stewart said although it was an accident, he won’t let it happen again.
“We know not to touch the main guy,” Stewart said. “I slipped. Next time I should just fall out of the way or something. I learned.”
Shemar Stewart was in the spotlight at the start of Bengals training camp because of the protracted wait for him to sign his rookie contract and the first-round edge rusher was the center of attention for different reasons at Wednesday’s practice.
Stewart rushed off the left side of the defense during one drill and bumped into Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow after stumbling. Burrow went down and right guard Lucas Patrick responded by getting into a scuffle with the rookie.
“Gotta protect No. 9, starts with me up front,” Patrick said, via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I gotta play better and protect better, but you can’t let No. 9 get hit.”
Quarterbacks are off limits at all training camps, but going through two prolonged absences and assorted other injury concerns for Burrow over the last five years makes the Bengals particularly keen on keeping him out of trouble. Center Ted Karras reinforced that message to Stewart.
“Just be smarter . . . great player, [but] that’s all of our hopes and dreams right there,” Karras said. “We’ve got to better too, that’s on us.”
The Bengals have two joint practices against the Commanders on August 15 and 16. There will likely be more than a brief scuffle should anyone hit Burrow during those sessions.
Quarterback Joe Burrow isn’t the only member of the Bengals who thinks running back Chase Brown has big things ahead of him this season.
After a quiet rookie season, the 2023 fifth-round pick broke out with 1,350 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns for the Bengals in 2024. That left offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to call him “a top-10 back in the league” and he said the team wants Brown “ready to touch the ball as many times as possible.”
That goal led the team’s offensive coaches to rethink their run scheme for the 2025 season and running backs coach Justin Hill said the conversations were focused on Brown above all else.
“At the end of the conversation, it wasn’t about what we think looks good on the board,” Hill said, via Charlie Goldsmith of the Associated Press. "[It was] what is Chase good at? How can we showcase his tools in the run game and in the pass game? Where we have in the run game right now is pretty true to who we think Chase is and what he can be.”
The Bengals showed that they can feed plenty of mouths on offense in 2024. They’d like to do that again this season while also winning enough games to see if their revised approach can lead to a long postseason run.
