After his press conference was delayed a week while the Trey Hendrickson interview and contract drama unfolded, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow got asked about that situation on Tuesday.
There, Burrow stressed that he doesn’t want to have an impact on contract negotiations for other players. But at the same time, he repeated his past stance about Hendrickson’s importance to the team.
In many ways, Burrow said much in just a few sentences.
“Yeah, we’ll see what happens with that,” Burrow told reporters. “You guys all know how I feel about Trey. He’s a great player. I love Trey as a guy. He goes out and plays well every single Sunday. He’s very productive. He’s a guy that deserves to get paid and get paid what he wants and what the market is. So, like I said, we’ll see what happens with that. But, I love Trey and hope he’s with us.”
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What’s notable is that Burrow’s past comments about Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Mike Gesicki were public, borderline threatening and at least appeared to play some small role in contract extensions for those players, especially in the case of Higgins.
The last remaining is Hendrickson, but he was always the most complicated subject. His past recent short extension, age (30) and the actual market value on pass-rushers who lead the NFL in sacks – to name a few of the many factors – explain the hangup.
A report recently hinted at what the Bengals have offered Hendrickson on a new deal. But sheer money isn’t the issue so much as structure and length.
All things considered, around one of the messiest contract situations in the NFL, Burrow handled himself well on the inevitable topic, as expected.
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