Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said on Tuesday that it is “a little disappointing” that the team does not have an international game because he would like to play on “a stage like that” as the NFL tries to grow its global footprint.
It wasn’t the only part of the team’s schedule that he took issue with during a press conference. Burrow also expressed his disappointment in learning that the Bengals will be in Baltimore for a night game for the fourth season in a row. The Bengals have lost the first three of those contests.
“Playing in Baltimore for the fourth straight year in prime time isn’t ideal,” Burrow said, via the team’s website. “Maybe we can get one of those in Cincinnati. Please.”
The Bengals will be in Baltimore on Thanksgiving this time around and head coach Zac Taylor took a different view than his quarterback. Taylor said he’d welcome more prime time action in Cincinnati, but that “a chance to perform in front of everybody that watches football” is an exciting one for the team.
Early in the offseason, Joe Burrow made it clear that he wanted to see the Bengals reward Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Mike Gesicki, and Trey Hendrickson with new contracts.
Cincinnati has checked the box on three of the four players on the quarterback’s wish list. But Hendrickson remains displeased with the deal that is set to pay him $15.8 million in base salary in 2025, saying last week that he will not play on his current contract.
In his Tuesday press conference, Burrow once again backed Hendrickson.
“Yeah, we’ll see what happens with that,” Burrow said. “You guys all know how I feel about Trey. He’s a great player. I love Trey as a guy. He goes out and plays well every single Sunday. He’s very productive. He’s a guy that deserves to get paid and get paid what he wants and what the market is. So, like I said, we’ll see what happens with that. But, I love Trey and hope he’s with us.
“I think he’s doing what he thinks is best for his career and I support him in that,” Burrow later added. “Trey’s a smart guy. Just like anybody, I’m sure there’s things that he’d like to have back. But he’s very well thought out in his process and what he’s trying to do. And so, if he thinks that’s the way to go, then that’s the way to go.”
Hendrickson caused a stir when he showed up at the Bengals Phase II workout last week in street clothes and spoke to the media for about 25 minutes. Burrow said he’s been in contact with the defensive end “here and there” in the past few months.
“Early in the offseason quite a bit, lately not quite as much,” Burrow said. “He was here last week, obviously, as you guys know. That was an exciting day. And it was great to see him. He came in, brought good energy, was happy to see everybody. Like I said, I love Trey, I love seeing Trey. He’s one of the most unique people I’ve ever been around or met, and I love that about him. And I think that’s what makes him a great player. So, he brings a unique energy that I’m always excited to see.”
Last week, Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson showed up in street clothes for Cincinnati’s voluntary workout and told reporters that things had become “personal” in his contract dispute.
Speaking to the media as the team’s Phase II session was ongoing, Hendrickson cited a text he received from head coach Zac Taylor about fines for missed mandatory minicamp as a factor that set him off.
In his Tuesday press conference, Taylor said that he has no update on Hendrickson, but noted that the two had talked.
“I put a lot of time into thinking — those situations, there’s real money at stake,” Taylor said. “So I put a lot of time and energy into thinking about how to communicate, when to communicate. And so, that’s just how I handled that one. And, yeah, Trey and I have spoken.
“I think every situation is unique,” Taylor later added. “Every personality is different, every player is different. The timing of everything is different. So, you just adapt as you go with that stuff.”
Taylor noted that it’s his decision when and how to handle those exchanges, adding that he didn’t find it distracting for Hendrickson to be speaking to the media during a workout.
“It was good to see him, good to have him in town,” Taylor said. “Practice had really wrapped up for the most part. I don’t have any issue with that.”
There’s also no doubt that Taylor sees the need for Hendrickson on the team’s defense.
“I mean, he’s an elite rusher,” Taylor said. “He’s done a great job in this league for a long time and since he’s been here. So, obviously, he’s a valuable part of our team.”
Hendrickson led the league last season with 17.5 sacks, becoming a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career.
The defensive end has said that he will not play this season under his current deal. He’s slated to make a base salary of $15.8 million with a salary cap hit of $18.6 million in 2025.
Bengals first-round pick Shemar Stewart remains unsigned and on the sidelines during the club’s on-field work.
The rookie edge rusher has been embroiled in a contract dispute with the club and has not been participating during Cincinnati’s voluntary workouts — though he has been in the building. Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported earlier on Tuesday that Stewart wants his contract to look like Cincinnati’s last two first-round picks, both of whom were taken after No. 17 overall.
As has been the case, Stewart is not planning to practice until the dispute is resolved.
Head coach Zac Taylor said after practice that there’s “no update yet” on Stewart’s status. But Taylor also noted that Stewart has “done a great job in the meetings.”
Stewart recorded 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in his 37 games at Texas A&M.
It appears that the Bengals and the Browns are in a competition to have the most contentious relationship possible with the counties where they currently play their home games.
And they’re both winning.
Not to be outdone by the current hostilities between the Bengals and Hamilton County over a new lease at Paycor Stadium, the Browns are battling with Cuyahoga County over the team’s determination to leave Cleveland for a domed stadium in Brook Park.
The latest escalation came on Monday, when Cuyahoga County executive Chris Ronayne sent a letter to Haslam Sports Group accusing Browns ownership of “greed and opportunism.” The one-page correspondence also says Jimmy Haslam and company are “distorting the facts” and “attempting to bully the public and fleece County taxpayers for [Haslam Sports Group’s] private gain.”
Ronayne accuses Browns ownership of “pushing a costly, risky, and poorly conceived plan that uses public subsidy to diminish our region, our communities, and our businesses.” He calls the team’s effort to build a $3.4 billion facility a “boondoggle.”
Last week, Haslam Sports Group COO Dave Jenkins sent a letter to Ronayne accusing him of “communicating misleading information” about the Brook Park project and describing the opposition to the domed stadium “truly disheartening.”
The exchange of nastygrams comes at a time when the Browns are trying to secure $600 million in Ohio funding through the issuance of bonds.
Separate from the funding fight is pending litigation between the Browns and the city of Cleveland regarding the application of Ohio’s Art Modell Law to the team’s effort to leave its downtown stadium.
Even if both teams end up getting what they want, there’s an ugliness to the process that is unhelpful and unbecoming to everyone involved. And while public unpleasantries are hardly unprecedented when it comes to stadium politics (e.g., the time the Browns left Cleveland 30 years ago), the two fronts of animosity in the Ohio cities that currently host NFL teams invite speculation as to one or both situations will eventually catch fire like the Cuyahoga River once did.
