Who dey say dey wanna host dat draft?
Cincinnati hopes to welcome the NFL’s premier offseason tentpole event.
Via the Cincinnati Business Courier, the Bengals and the city are “making a concerted push” to host the draft, with the target being 2028 or 2029.
Cincinnati previously had focused on 2027, but the effort was delayed to allow for the completion of a new hotel near the convention center.
The city is awaiting a green light from the league to make a formal submission to host the event.
The next two drafts — Pittsburgh in 2026 and Washington in 2027 — are set. Baltimore is exploring the possibility of hosting in 2029, 2030, or 2031.
Any NFL city that wants to host the draft should get a chance to do so. In every location, a large crowd will show up. And the official number will be even larger, thanks to duplicated counting of fans from one day to the next, and during each day of the draft.
Trey Hendrickson is not participating in the Bengals’ voluntary offseason program as a show of displeasure over his contract. He is training elsewhere but showed up Tuesday to voice his displeasure with the team and with head coach Zac Taylor.
Reporters are allowed to one practice a week during the offseason program, and Hendrickson watched in street clothes before voicing his grievances to beat reporters after a text exchange Taylor.
Taylor told Hendrickson the Bengals would fine him if he didn’t show up for the mandatory minicamp in June. Hendrickson, who is under contract for 2025, would be subject to a $16,459 fine for missing the first day, $32,920 for the second day and $49,374 for the third day, something Hendrickson surely was already aware.
“A little bit transpired between me and Zac,” Hendrickson said, via Mike Petraglia of clnscincy.com. “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 fined alludes to the fact that something won’t get done in that time frame. With the lack of communication post-draft made it imminently clear to my party — meaning my wife, my son and my agent, a small group of people — that I had informed them that this might not work out. I don’t think it was necessary. I think we should have all hoped for the best until proven otherwise.
“Other things have transpired like the importance of me being here in OTAs doesn’t seem to be respected. I think I’ve carried a lot of respect. I don’t mean to insinuate anything about anyone’s character, but that was disappointing. I think that was the word of the offseason.”
Hendrickson made clear he will not play this season under his current deal. He is scheduled to make a base salary of $15.8 million with a salary cap hit of $18.6 million in 2025.
As with the mandatory minicamp, Hendrickson would be subject of daily fines for missing training camp. But he is not thinking that far ahead.
“I don’t have a predictive analysis,” Hendrickson said, via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I’ve been hoping for the best through the entire process. The only thing that alluded to fines was the text I got yesterday from Zac. I thought this was a little early to talk about fines personally with how I’ve conducted myself. I’m incredibly humbled to talk about a potential extension. That’s the part that’s disappointing. Hard work works. I’m a firm believer in that. It’s disappointing.”
Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson made an appearance at the team’s offseason program for the first time on Tuesday, but it wasn’t to take part in their workout.
Hendrickson was dressed for a round of golf rather than any football work and he timed his attendance for a day when the media would also be present. Hendrickson spoke to those reporters after the session about his ongoing contractual issues with the team.
Hendrickson said, via multiple reporters, that his Monday statement about the lack of recent negotiations with the team came after hearing from head coach Zac Taylor that he would be fined for missing the team’s mandatory minicamp. Hendrickson took that and the lack of interest in talking to mean that no deal will come in that timeframe and said, via Charlie Clifford of WLWT, that he’s been “very disappointed with the communication that’s been had.”
What Hendrickson will do for minicamp remains to be seen, but he said that he does not plan to play this season under his current contract. He reiterated that he believes that the team committed to working out a long-term deal in the past and that they have since shifted to pushing for a shorter deal.
That’s not something Hendrickson wants and that suggests that there’s not going to be an end to the standoff in Cincinnati for some time.
Trey Hendrickson released a statement on Monday noting his displeasure with the state of his contract negotiations with the Bengals.
But the defensive end has nevertheless reported to the building.
Via multiple reporters on the scene, Hendrickson is present for the Bengals’ offseason program workout that is open to the media on Tuesday. But he is in street clothes, indicating that he will not actively participate on the field.
Hendrickson and the Bengals have been engaged in a public back-and-forth over his contract. On Monday, Hendrickson’s statement said that there have not been any negotiations between his camp and the team since the draft.
Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn has said, “it’s on [Hendrickson] to be happy at some point” and that Hendrickson “should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at.”
Hendrickson later called those comments “disappointing” and “frustrating.”
Hendrickson is entering the last year of his contract with the Bengals and is slated to make $15.8 million in base salary. He’s recorded 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons. That mark led the league in 2024.
Cincinnati is also at a contract impasse with its top two draft picks, as neither No.17 overall pick Shemar Stewart nor second-round pick Demetrius Knight participated in rookie minicamp over the weekend.
As offseason programs continue across the league, the NFL’s 2024 sack leader remains unhappy with his current team.
In a statement issued to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, defensive end Trey Hendrickson said he and the Bengals remain at an impasse when it comes to his contract.
“No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft,” Hendrickson said. “The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level. Coaches are aware of these past conversations. Rather than using collaboration to get us to a point to bring me home to the team, THEY are no longer communicating.
“I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of this situation, but that’s hard to do when there is no discussion and an evident lack of interest in reaching mutual goals.”
Hendrickson is entering the last year of his contract with the Bengals and is slated to make $15.8 million in base salary. He has been pushing for a new contract from Cincinnati, but to this point, the organization has not made him a satisfactory offer.
Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn has said, “it’s on [Hendrickson] to be happy at some point” and that Hendrickson “should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at.”
Hendrickson later called those comments “disappointing” and “frustrating.”
Hendrickson signed with Cincinnati in 2021 after spending his first four seasons with the Saints. He’s recorded 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, leading the league in the category in 2024.
