Bengals' Trey Hendrickson Speaks Out on 'Distraction' of Contract Dispute at Camp

Bengals' Trey Hendrickson Speaks Out on 'Distraction' of Contract Dispute at Camp originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The holdout has ended.

The conflict has not.

And what about the "distraction?"

The Cincinnati Bengals are at training camp and now sack leader Trey Hendrickson is here with them — this despite the fact that Hendrickson recently told NFL Network that the Bengals' offer and guarantees "are atrociously, atrociously low."

Hendrickson — who made it clear he won't play on the last year of his current deal, worth $16 million in 2025 — posted on social media a video of him driving out of Ohio and heading to Florida.

He's pulled a U-turn, though ... and now what does he say about it all?

"Things are exactly the same [regarding contract talks],'' Hendrickson said. "What I'm [going to do], as best I can, is avoid being a distraction."

He was the last NFL holdout, that's done for now ... but that doesn't mean a deal is done, of course.

Let's plan on this being a "hold-in.''

ESPN has reported there is a framework and a movement toward a deal. But ...

Ummm … if there is a “big disagreement over guaranteed money,” as the network has noted, there is no framework of a deal in place.

Hendrickson enters the final year of his deal and is demanding a pay raise near the new market ceiling set by Cleveland Browns EDGE Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh Steelers' T.J. Watt this offseason.

Hendrickson's situation has been drawn out since the beginning of the offseason, and while Bengals owner and president Mike Brown spoke highly of his star defensive end, no resolution appears to be in sight just yet.

"We have people back in their office who are sharpening their pencils and trying to figure that out as I speak here," Brown said. "It had been a long negotiation. Trey Hendrickson is a fine player; he's a good guy. We want him here."

The fact remains, Hendrickson's league-leading 35 sacks over the past two years do plenty to prove his worth.

"This narrative,'' Hendrickson said with some positivity, "will kinda iron itself out as we continue to progress towards the season."