The defensive winger of Bengals Trey Hendrickson said some things Tuesday. Things that a player rarely says publicly.
A comment stands out among the others. He said that coach Zac Taylor sent a text explaining that if Hendrickson does not show up for the compulsory minicamp next month, he will be fined.
This statement screams for the context. Did Taylor sent the blue message? Or was it part of a broader discussion on Hendrickson’s failed effort to obtain a new contract?
It is difficult to imagine that Taylor takes a hard line not caused with a key player. It is easy to imagine him remind Hendrickson the way Bengals are dealing with a broader conversation concerning Hendrickson’s options when it comes to obtaining the contract that the Front Office will not give him.
Last year, for example, when the receiver Ja’mar Chase introduced himself to the training camp but did not practice, they inflicted it on a fine. If we understand it, the team took the position at some point that the fines could not be canceled – even if they could have been, because Chase still worked under his recruit contract. (We do not know specifically how all this finally worked.)
Fines to skip the compulsory mini-cap can be canceled, for any player. Maybe Taylor simply pointed out Hendrickson that Bengals will not do that. That he will be sentenced to a fine and that the money will be collected.
Anyway, two things seem obvious. First, Hendrickson is upset. Second, text exchange was something more than Taylor deciding without encouraging Hendrickson than if he jumps for the compulsory mini-camp, he will be sentenced to a fine.
If the second hypothesis is wrong, Hendrickson can publish the exchange of text. Although this is an unconventional approach, everything he has done so far this week has been extremely unconventional.
