{"id":249532,"date":"2025-07-31T02:27:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T02:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/249532\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T02:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T02:27:09","slug":"hendrickson-back-at-bengals-camp-while-contract-talks-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/249532\/","title":{"rendered":"Hendrickson back at Bengals’ camp while contract talks continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cincinnati \u2013 Even though, Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals remain at odds when it comes to reaching a contract extension, the All-Pro defensive end felt it was more important to be with teammates as they prepare for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

That is why Hendrickson was at his first training camp practice on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Hendrickson was dressed in all back and wasn’t wearing his No. 91 jersey, but he was keeping a keen eye on the defense’s workouts and was giving pointers to first-round pick Shemar Stewart.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can help him in any way, that\u2019s my goal for being here,\u201d Hendrickson said after practice. \u201cThe plan was be here day 1. Things transpired. News happened to me and we just kind of make decisions as we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hendrickson missed the first seven days and five practices of camp, accumulating $350,000 in fines. He also received total of $104,768 in fines for not attending the three days of the Bengals’ mandatory minicamp in June according to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA.<\/p>\n

When it comes to reaching an extension, Hendrickson said that \u201cnothing\u2019s really changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both sides remain far off on the amount of guaranteed money Hendrickson will receive, along with how much he gets during the early years of the deal. He is scheduled to earn $15.8 million in base salary this season and has a cap number of $18.7 million.<\/p>\n

Hendrickson led the league with 17 1\/2 sacks last season, becoming the fourth player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to have two straight years with at least 17 1\/2. His 57 sacks since joining the Bengals in 2021 are third most in the NFL over the past four seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the guy that has the most sacks over the past two years. Production has value in this league. When you have a guy like that, you want to reward him,\u201d quarterback Joe Burrow said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to play a big part in the team this season. Just to have him around makes a big difference in the energy around here. He brings an intensity that is very unique and so I think that\u2019s good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Bengals and Hendrickson can bridge the gap, it will complete an trifecta of signing three of their top players to lucrative extensions.<\/p>\n

In March, Ja\u2019Marr Chase\u2019s $161 million contract made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL at the time, and Tee Higgins\u2019 $115 million deal made him one of the league\u2019s top 10 highest-paid receivers.<\/p>\n

Hendrickson is a valuable piece to a defense looking to improve with Al Golden in his first season as coordinator. The Bengals (9-8 last season) finished 25th in the league in total defense (348.3 yards allowed per game) and lost four games last season in which they scored at least 30 points.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the short time I\u2019ve been in these meetings it\u2019s been encouraging,\u201d Hendrickson said about Golden. \u201cI think he\u2019s a very wise coach. He\u2019s been here before. Nothing but respect for him and moving forward we\u2019ll see what transpires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until a contract is reached, Hendrickson’s main priority is getting Stewart up to speed. Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April’s draft, missed the first three days of camp before signing his rookie contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to help the guys. Guys have helped me along the way like Demario Davis, Cam Jordan and even Sam Hubbard helped me a lot when I was here. To be that right now, that\u2019s what\u2019s most important,\u201d Hendrickson said. “This narrative will iron itself out as we continue to progress toward the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steelers QB Rodgers may be at final training camp<\/p>\n

Latrobe, Pa. \u2013 This is not Aaron Rodgers’ first training camp.<\/p>\n

Or his 10th.<\/p>\n

Or his 20th, for that matter.<\/p>\n

Yet the NFL’s oldest player seems to be rejuvenated by camp life with the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n

It’s not just the age of his new teammates, some of whom \u2013 such as 21-year-old first-round pick Derrick Harmon \u2013 were toddlers when Rodgers was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2005 draft. It’s not just the chance to work closely with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, whom he’s admired from afar for years.<\/p>\n

It’s all of it. From living in a college dormitory at Saint Vincent College \u2013 something he hadn’t done since the Green Bay Packers stopped going to St. Norbert College during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 to being part of a practice with live hitting for the first time in at least a decade.<\/p>\n

No, the NFL’s oldest player wasn’t putting his 41-year-old body on the line during the initial full-contact session of the season on Wednesday \u2013 quarterbacks are still off limits \u2013 but he did get an up-close look at the kind of physical practice that Tomlin believes is vital if increasingly uncommon this time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t been a part of a true tackling period in a long time,\u201d Rodgers said about an hour before trotting down to sweltering Chuck Noll Field in his white No. 8 jersey.<\/p>\n

And while Rodgers kept his No. 8 clean, he did find himself leaning into the competitive nature of things. During the \u201cseven shots\u201d drill \u2013 essentially a series of 2-point conversion attempts by the offense \u2013 Rodgers found himself in the thick of things while taking a handful of live snaps with the starters.<\/p>\n

His first pass was swatted down by blitzing safety DeShon Elliott. Rodgers laughed in the aftermath and even exchanged high-fives with Elliott before both players made their way back to the huddle. During the four-time MVP’s second attempt, he deftly maneuvered around the pocket before finding newly acquired tight end Jonnu Smith for a conversion.<\/p>\n

The best-of-seven ended with perhaps Rodgers’ finest moment on the field so far during camp. Needing a score to record a \u201cwin\u201d for the offense, Rodgers floated a pass to the back corner of the end zone, where DK Metcalf made a twisting grab before tapping both feet down inbounds.<\/p>\n

While it hasn’t been the crispest start to camp for the offense in general, Rodgers is hardly panicking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a bad thing to get beat up a little bit,\u201d he said, later adding, \u201csometimes you can learn more from the failures in training camp than getting after it every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers, who signed with the Steelers in early June after spending months weighing whether to play in 2025, would like to have the offense down pat by the end of the week but cautioned, \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Progress on the field isn’t the only thing Rodgers is working on. His somewhat late arrival, combined with the likelihood that this is his final season, means there isn’t a lot of time to build the kind of chemistry required to thrive once the games start to count.<\/p>\n

In that way, being away for camp \u2013 a once common practice now only done by a half-dozen teams \u2013 has helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that we\u2019re out here in Latrobe. I love the opportunity for true camaraderie,\u201d he said. \u201cAt nighttime, after meetings are done, guys hang out, you know, guys come to my room. Last night, I was in (linebacker Alex) Highsmith\u2019s room. So that\u2019s it\u2019s pretty cool to see everybody hanging out the way they are. It\u2019s a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it is still fun for Rodgers. There will be plenty of time in the future when his career will be in his rearview mirror. He’s not quite there yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, once it stops being fun, you should probably hang it up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Coach ends Cowboys’ practice early after fights<\/p>\n

Oxnard, Calif. \u2013 When the Dallas Cowboys wouldn’t stop fighting, coach Brian Schottenheimer made them run.<\/p>\n

During a noticeably fraught practice in what has been an aggressive training camp, Schottenheimer stepped in Wednesday after a heated red-zone drill led to the third fight of the day. The new coach pulled the team together for a lengthy and expletive-filled speech before sending players back out to start running sideline to sideline.<\/p>\n

Following the punishing sprints, Schottenheimer brought the team back together for a second address before he ended practice early.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, we just have to understand that Dallas isn\u2019t on the schedule, so we\u2019re nobody\u2019s enemies,\u201d offensive lineman Nate Thomas said. \u201cWe have to make sure that we’re taking care of each other, but also getting the good work in because we have some guys down right now, and we have to understand that we need these reps. So we can\u2019t go out here and start fighting each other just because somebody did a little extra pushing or whatever the case may be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schottenheimer, a first-time head coach, has tried to balance competing aims during camp. He wants physical, high-energy sessions that will allow the offensive and defensive fronts to develop after the Cowboys struggled in both areas last season. At the same time, Schottenheimer is stressing accountability, an area wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said the team has lacked at times in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a while, but I feel like that was really necessary,\u201d Lamb said after being asked about the last time he had been part of a practice where the whole team had been punished that way. \u201cI honestly like what he\u2019s doing because we need discipline. We need to be able to go through that line. I\u2019m saying we need to have that, that availability towards the team and then that aggressiveness at the same time, to be able to be as mad and fight between the whistles, and then as soon as the (play is) done, like, we going to line it up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cowboys were 29th in the NFL penalties committed and 28th in giveaways last season, when they went 7-10 under then-coach Mike McCarthy.<\/p>\n

Bears QB Williams confident in new offense<\/p>\n

Lake Forest, Ill. \u2013 Quarterback Caleb Williams\u2019 confidence has hit a new high in the Chicago Bears offense while the number of interceptions he is throwing in practice is declining.<\/p>\n

Williams has practiced for a week in new coach Ben Johnson\u2019s offense and after struggling initially with turnovers, the second-year quarterback seems to have stabilized within the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as of right now I think I\u2019m rolling,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty smooth with it as of right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not perfect, as the offense continued Wednesday at practice to have difficulty getting into the end zone from within the red zone. Still, it does look more consistent and Williams is finding more of his playmakers on time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes down to just a little bit more studying, it comes down to a little bit more practicing, a lot more reps and things like that over time,\u201d Williams said. \u201cSo I think that\u2019s where it is. I think that\u2019s where it is right now. We\u2019re going to keep progressing, and I\u2019m going to keep progressing and getting after it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initially, Williams’ troubles were in simple things such as pre-snap procedure or even getting the snap from center. The snaps were understandable because the Bears took most of their snaps in shotgun formation under former coach Matt Eberflus and his two offensive coordinators last season. Now Williams is under center extensively for the first time in his career going back through college.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think right now I\u2019m doing well with the process, whether that\u2019s before the snap, whether it\u2019s after the snap whether it\u2019s footwork, all these different things,\u201d Williams said. \u201cProtecting the football these last couple of practices has been key and important.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important in any season, in any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson confirms Williams\u2019 advancement, even if he is hollering at times and actually pulled the offense back off the field on Day 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see growth. He is so much more comfortable right now,\u201d Johnson said of Williams. \u201cEven (Monday), the walkthrough \u2026 just in terms of moving around. We go from gun, to under (center), to the tight ends are moving, the receivers are moving, we\u2019re adding a few more every single day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis process, and I told him this on the player day off, his process is really clean right now. I\u2019m talking about how he\u2019s preparing. I\u2019m really pleased with it. He\u2019s doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing and we\u2019re starting to see the dividends being paid from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It helps having all of his playmakers available.<\/p>\n

Throughout OTAs and even the start of training camp, they were getting little participation from rookie first-round tight end Colston Loveland because of his postseason shoulder surgery. Second-round wide receiver Luther Burden III did not practice from early May through the first week of training camp because of a soft tissue injury.<\/p>\n

Both are back and catching passes now during practice. Loveland has formed a quick connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been great,\u201d Williams. \u201cHe\u2019s a smart cat. We\u2019ve hung out a few times. Actually, him and a couple other teammates, we went down to the city on our off day and had dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hanging out, building that bond, building that trust. On the field-wise, he\u2019s smart, he knows what he\u2019s doing, he\u2019s a young cat so there are going to be a few mistakes, maybe hand placement. But when the ball goes up, I got all faith in him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burden had a rocky start. He got pulled off the field once for lining up wrong, the product of so much time away from practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows up already,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe were in the walkthrough yesterday afternoon and the misalignments, we had to re-huddle. We had to start it all over again. He\u2019s a little bit behind right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burden made up for it on Wednesday with a catch in traffic and a touchdown in red zone work.<\/p>\n

Johnson didn\u2019t lay all of the earlier problems on Williams or receivers. Their rebuilt offensive line has had to work to keep up with coordinator Dennis Allen\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to do a better job giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe\u2019re having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN cuts ties with Sharpe after lawsuit<\/p>\n

Hall of Fame tight end-turned-broadcaster Shannon Sharpe will not return to ESPN, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The decision comes less than two weeks after Sharpe resolved a lawsuit that accused him of sexually assaulting a woman during their relationship. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced.<\/p>\n

Sharpe\u2019s last appearance on ESPN was in late April, when the lawsuit was filed in Nevada. No details of the settlement were released. The lawsuit had sought $50 million.<\/p>\n

The 57-year-old Sharpe called the accusations \u201cfalse and disruptive” at the time they were levied and hoped to return in time for the NFL season.<\/p>\n

Instead, ESPN opted to move on from the brash four-time All-Pro tight end who won three Super Bowls during his 14-year career.<\/p>\n

Sharpe joined ESPN in 2023 and signed a multiyear contract in 2024. He served as a panelist on the network\u2019s morning show \u201cFirst Take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharpe has been a staple on TV and social media since retiring in 2003. He joined CBS in 2004 as an analyst on \u201cThe NFL Today\u201d studio show before leaving in 2013. Three years later, he joined forces with Skip Bayless on the FS1 sports debate show \u201cUndisputed.\u201d Sharpe left in 2023 after Bayless took a shot at Sharpe’s NFL playing career during a debate a couple of months earlier.<\/p>\n

Sharpe still has his \u201cClub Shay Shay\u201d and \u201cNightcap\u201d podcasts with former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson.<\/p>\n

Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, Sharpe retired as the NFL\u2019s all-time leader among tight ends in receptions (815), yards receiving (10,060) and touchdowns (62). Those records have been broken.<\/p>\n

Sterling Sharpe, Shannon’s older brother, will be inducted on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Ravens tight end Likely needs surgery<\/p>\n

Owings Mills, Md. \u2013 Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely needs surgery after injuring his lower leg this week.<\/p>\n

Coach John Harbaugh confirmed that Wednesday. He said the previous day that Likely hurt his ankle and foot area and would miss several weeks.<\/p>\n

NFL.com reported Likely would miss about six weeks \u2013 and Baltimore’s season opener is on Sept 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s going to have surgery,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cI think the timeline I saw actually was accurate, on the timeline that was reported. So we’ve got a shot to get him back there right away early. We’ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likely set career highs last season with 42 receptions for 477 yards and six touchdowns. It was his third season in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was early in camp, and it’s not one of those major-type of deals,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cBut it’s something. It’s multiple weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seattke GM Schneider gets contract extension<\/p>\n

Seattle \u2013 Seattle Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider signed a contract extension through the 2031 season on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Schneider is the longest-tenured GM in franchise history, having held the job since 2010. The Seahawks did not disclose terms of the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extension of general manager John Schneider\u2019s contract is a testament to his 15-plus years of football leadership and success,\u201d Seahawks owner Jody Allen said in a statement. \u201cI am confident that John will continue to deliver real results and a continued strong partnership with head coach Mike Macdonald that is already contributing to our winning culture on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 54-year-old Schneider first joined the Seahawks in 2000 as director of player personnel, and then returned to the franchise in 2010 as GM and executive vice president. Seattle made the playoffs in Schneider’s first season and won the Super Bowl in his fourth.<\/p>\n

During Schneider’s time as GM, the Seahawks have compiled the sixth-best record in the NFL at 147-96-1 and have won 10 or more games in nine of the past 13 seasons. Seattle has made the playoffs 10 times in 15 seasons and has won five NFC West titles and two conference championships under Schneider.<\/p>\n

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