On Wednesday, Cincinnati Bengals superstar defensive end Trey Hendrickson requested a trade from the team due to his current contract situation. And it sounds like he’s taking it a bit further than simply requesting a trade – he’s threatening retirement.
According to a report from Charlie Clifford of WLWT, Trey Hendrickson is threatening to retire from the NFL rather than play for the Bengals next season if he is not traded or not given a new contract.
“A source tells @WLWT, in addition to the trade request, Trey Hendrickson notified the Bengals that he is considering retirement ahead of this regular season if the two sides fail to reach an agreement on a new contract. Hendrickson met with Head Coach Zac Taylor earlier today,” Clifford said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
A source tells @WLWT, in addition to the trade request, Trey Hendrickson notified the Bengals that he is considering retirement ahead of this regular season if the two sides fail to reach an agreement on a new contract.
Hendrickson met with Head Coach Zac Taylor earlier today. pic.twitter.com/vFtjE97B6k
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) April 24, 2024
Obviously, this is a pretty significant threat from Hendrickson, and it actually is not the first time that a player has threatened retirement in an attempt to convince the team to trade him. Following the 2010 season, quarterback Carson Palmer threatened to retire rather than play for the Bengals.
While the Bengals didn’t initially trade him and Palmer followed through on his threat to retire, the team ultimately did trade him to the Raiders once it was clear that Andy Dalton would be a serviceable starter.
