Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he will not report to training camp with the rest of the team’s veterans, amid ongoing contract negotiations.

Hendrickson said in May he will not suit up under his current deal, which will pay him a $15.8 million base salary in 2025. The Bengals came to the table with several offers, but nothing materialized. Bengals owner Mike Brown said Monday: “It has been a long negotiation. Trey Hendrickson is a fine player, he’s a good guy, we want him here. Dealing with him is sometimes not so easy and that’s alright he’s got the right to argue his case. We’ll try to make sense of it from our perspective and we’ll see. I’m not persuaded that it isn’t going to get done, as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”

The news that Hendrickson was skipping training camp came as news to Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, who said the team expected him to be present: “He’s an important part of our team. He’s under contract and we expect all our guys under contract to be here. He’s a guy who has been very valuable. He has earned a raise and extension. We’ll see if we can come together on something.”

Hendrickson, who joined the Bengals in 2021, registered a league-best 17.5 sacks last season, equaling his 2023 numbers as one of the NFL’s top edge rushers. He also accumulated 46 combined tackles, including 33 solo tackles, which were career-bests in both categories.

The franchise is also in the middle of a contract dispute with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, the NFL’s only unsigned first-rounder.  Stewart, also a DE, wants a fully-guaranteed deal without any behavioral stipulations and is asking that his contract language mirror the team’s last first-round picks.

Editorial credit: kovop / Shutterstock.com