Veteran pass rusher Trey Hendrickson plans to end his holdout with the Cincinnati Bengals and report to training camp. All of this despite not having a new deal in place. That has led to the question, “what is going on?”
Trey Hendrickson is planning to report to Bengals camp without a new deal in place, per source.
Hendrickson is on his way from Jacksonville to Cincinnati, where the two sides will continue to work on a deal for the pass rusher.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 29, 2025
Why might Hendrickson do this?
Well, there are a few answers that no one, aside from those involved in the actual negotiations, knows. One could be turning the holdout into a hold-in. That would avoid the $50,000 fine that comes each day that he misses.
So with Trey Hendrickson reporting to camp Wednesday, Bengals will have all players on hand. @AdamSchefter reports the Hendrickson will avoid further $50,000 daily fines for being on the Did Not Report list but the sides still apart. “Good faith gesture” on the part of…
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 29, 2025
The good faith and pressure applied despite not being close to a deal
Hendrickson could be showing a bit of good faith in negotiations, as well as applying pressure by being around and more in conversations. He has been in the news nearly constantly, though, as the media quickly picks up on the Cincinnati contract dispute to pick that low-hanging fruit.
This helps apply pressure imo. Be in the building. Be a story. A distraction.
Not good for the team health, but can help get the deal done. https://t.co/4tPfdQagEG
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) July 29, 2025
Now having said all the reports are that the deal is still “not close.” We will have to see if that improves because of this or if it is just going to be a Ja’Marr Chase hold-in where he just gets his deal right before the season or forced to go in.
Was he spying on practice
Was Hendrickson secretly spying on practice to see how bad they needed him? (Not really, but it is still a funny post.)