For months, fans of the Indianapolis Colts have been hoping that Cincinnati Bengals superstar Trey Hendrickson might end up making his way to Indy. Hendrickson has been open about wanting to leave Cincinnati, and the Bengals granted him permission to seek a trade. From there, though, the situation became a roller coaster, with Hendrickson becoming openly frustrated about how it has played out.
In April, Hendrickson went nuclear during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, saying that he wasn't expecting an unreasonable or ridiculously high salary, but that the Bengals were refusing to communicate with him at all.
"Through this process, communication, when I say it's been poor... it's been like, here and there. And respect to Ja'Marr and Tee. I don't want to take anything away from all the great things they've accomplished in their careers. They deserve everything that they've gotten, and no doubt in my mind, they're going to excel in the National Football League. I have a tremendous respect for both of them. But when it comes to my situation, it would have been nice to know in some ways, like, 'Hey, we're gonna put you in the queue.' No problem with me. My wife and I try to be as humble as possible, as Christ-loving people. So we don't have any desires of being highest paid or first in line. We try to be as patient as possible when you have things like OTAs coming and guys like Sam Hubbard, who's a tremendous captain for our team last year, that leaves a vacancy for that, and I'm excited to fill that. But how do we reach that before we get there? And those are the things that matter when you're talking about a Super Bowl, it's in the little things. in the little details."Trey Hendrickson
He also publicly clapped back when Bengals vice president Katie Blackburn said he should be satisfied with the money available to him, reiterating again how little the team has been willing to work with him.
"Those comments from Katie Blackburn were definitely disappointing, and communication has been poor over the last couple of months," he said. "It's been a little bit frustrating, and if they have anything they'd like to discuss, we're definitely willing to listen. When I say that communication has been poor, I mean that it's been here and there. We don't have any desire to be the highest paid, and we've tried to be as patient as possible. Three years ago, I began to ask for a long-term contract with guaranteed money. It was very confusing to read what I read yesterday."
This has all been good news for the Colts; Hendrickson is an incredible player, and Indianapolis seriously needs a defensive end, especially one who can be as good a pass rusher as Hendrickson is. He has been to four straight Pro Bowls, and racked up 35 sacks over two years.
It's not clear how much effort the Colts have put into acquiring Hendrickson, but whatever they did or didn't do, it might be too late; the Bengals have evidently begun to make progress with their all-star defender. Things had gotten so bad between Hendrickson and the Bengals that he even skipped the team's mandatory minicamp, but that may have been enough to get their attention; contract talks have resumed, indicating that it might be too late for the Colts to steal him away.
This is bad news for Colts fans, but even worse news for general manager Chris Ballard. Carlie Irsay-Gordon, who is taking over the running of the team from her late father, made it clear that she expects the Colts to win now; there will be no "gap year" to allow them to rebuild after Jim Irsay's sudden death. And she also already fired warning shots towards Ballard, publicly saying that he has not met the standard she expects from him.
If Ballard loses the opportunity to get Hendrickson, it will be a problem. He has historically favored playing it safe in the offseason, choosing instead to run it back year after year rather than signing free agents or making big trades. While he did have a few notable signings earlier in the year, there has been nothing since then. The Colts already had the opportunity to potentially get Germaine Pratt, which would have filled another serious hole on the Colts' defense. Yet Ballard let Pratt slip away... and now Hendrickson, too?
That's the opposite of what fans -- and Irsay-Gordon -- were wanting to see from Ballard this offseason. It's a mystery as to why Ballard wouldn't seriously pursue either Pratt or Hendrickson; both positions are a major need on the roster, and both players are among the best at those positions. It makes no logical sense, especially when you consider the Colts had an instant in: both players thrived under Lou Anarumo, their defensive coordinator in Cincinnati, who now has moved on to Indy. It's a major fail for Ballard to have lost Pratt, but if he loses Hendrickson too, it might end up as another nail slammed into his Colts coffin.