The Bengals have signed wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to contract extensions this offseason, but they have not signed defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a new deal and comments from executive vice president Katie Blackburn this week didn't do much to suggest that an agreement is imminent.
It's been the party line all offseason that the Bengals want to get something done with Hendrickson and head coach Zac Taylor reiterated that on Monday, but Blackburn said on Tuesday that she doesn't know if that will happen and kept the possibility of a trade on the table. Blackburn also said that "it is on him to be happy at some point" and that she thinks "he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at."
Hendrickson responded to those comments during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. Hendrickson called the comments "confusing" because he's been talking to the team about a long-term deal for the last few years and that it was communicated to him that something would get done this offseason. He also said that the communication from the Bengals has fallen short of where he believes it needs to be.
"That was a little disappointing because communication has been poor over the last couple months," Hendrickson said. "That’s something I hold in high regard. They have not communicated with my agent directly. It’s been something that’s been a little bit frustrating."
Hendrickson said he does not have any desires to be "the highest paid or first in line" and that he's been "as patient as possible" in conversations with the team, but made it clear that he's not looking for "incentives that will be out of my control" or a short-term deal given his stated desire for a long-term contract that includes guaranteed money.
Blackburn said that the Bengals have "all the respect in the world" for Hendrickson, but Hendrickson said on Wednesday that "actions are speaking a lot louder in a different direction" and he and the Bengals may be moving in different directions if they can't clean up the the dirty laundry that got aired this week.
