The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t been able to find a way to trade Trey Hendrickson. And now he’s a no-show as minicamp begins. However, Hendrickson is not a priority for the Bengals, according to an NFL insider.
Too much focus on the receivers put the Bengals in a bad spot, according to Peter Schrager’s comments on The Pat McAfee Show.
“I can tell you the Bengals this offseason with two priorities: somehow, some way getting Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase to remain with the Cincinnati Bengals in their free agent contract years,” Schrager said. “And guess what, they did it. Then they get this bomb dropped on them during the combine that Trey Hendrickson wants to be paid $30-40 million. They didn’t budget for that. They didn’t prepare for that.”
Bengals TE Trey Hendrickson admired by team
Schrager said it won’t be easy for the Bengals to part ways with Hendrickson.
“This one is sticky because he’s beloved,” Schrager said. “And he’s beloved in the locker room. And the team really likes him. He met his wife in Cincinnati. He had his kid in Cincinnati. He’s saying, look at the market. It doesn’t make sense for what I’m being paid.”
Also, the Bengals haven’t done themselves any favors by dragging their feet. Maybe they save a couple of bucks, but the risk is that they lose Hendrickson.
“There has been enough time that if they wanted to get this done, they could’ve figured this out,” Schrager said. “And found a way to find the budget and the numbers before training camp. They haven’t moved heaven and earth to do that, so they are at a standstill right now.”
Age matters in this equation.
“(Hendrickson’s) turning 31,” Schrager said. “They look at dollars and cents. And they look at a pie as a budget. And does this pie make sense to have that much of our salary cap devoted to a guy who led the league in sacks last year? But we don’t know if he’s the future of this franchise.”
For their part, the Bengals are playing hardball, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I want Trey on our football team. He’s under contract,” Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said in February. “We’re looking to pay him for what we believe will be really good future years, and we see him as not falling off in his career. And, you know, so we’re that’s why we’re actively trying (to pay him).”
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