For most teams, withholding services via a holdout eventually creates the pressure needed to get a deal done. The Bengals are not most teams.
They don’t care if a player stays away. For them, it’s about power and precedent. And since they weren’t going to blink over defensive end Trey Hendrickson’s training-camp holdout, Hendrickson is making the smart move by showing up.
His fines of $50,000 for each day missed can’t be waived, regardless of whether the Bengals even would have forgiven them. And the number would have kept increasing, with no impact on the team’s overall mindset.
Eventually, Hendrickson would have lost game checks of $877,000 each, if he’d held out into the regular season. The practical loss would have been more than that, based on whatever the team’s best offer on a new deal would have been. (Months ago, we heard the Bengals were willing to pay him $28 million per year. He’s currently at $15.8 million in base salary.)
If Hendrickson hadn’t shown up, the Bengals would have allowed him to become this year’s version of Haason Reddick. That’s probably why Hendrickson reported; he knew the holdout wasn’t working.
And while Hendrickson may be inclined to deliberately not practice after showing up, the Bengals may not be willing to play along with that. Last year, they imposed fines on receiver Ja’Marr Chase during his hold in. (His fines could be waived.) If Hendrickson refuses to set foot on the practice field, the Bengals may choose to fine him.
Also, if Hendrickson doesn’t practice due to an “injury,” the Bengals may be willing to call him on it.
The bigger point is this: Now that Hendrickson is there, he won’t be leaving. If he does and if he stays away for five days, the Bengals can shut him down for the full season and owe him nothing.
Would that hurt in the short term? Yes. Over the long haul, it would reinforce the intended message.
We’re in charge. We run the show. We dictate the terms. And we’ll be here long after you and every other player on the roster has exited the game of football.
Hendrickson’s only play at this point is to get ready to play football, and to be prepared to take the last, best offer the team makes before Week 1. Even if it’s short of the APY he wants. And even if only the first year is fully-guaranteed at signing.
Whatever label is applied by Hendrickson’s camp, the truth is that he caved. And that’s fine.
With the Bengals, it was the only play he could make.