'He Deserves It' - Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase Weighs In On Trey Hendrickson Contract Dispute

CINCINNATI – For the second time in two weeks, a Cincinnati Bengals player who received a huge extension weighed in on defensive end Trey Hendrickson’s inability to land one.

Last week it was Joe Burrow, whose push for the team to re-sign the NFL sack leader didn’t sound as forceful as it did back in January and February when the emotions of missing the playoffs were still raw.

This week it was wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who in March signed a four-year, $161 million extension.

“He’s an amazing player, man,” Chase said when asked about Hendrickson during a wide-ranging, 20-minute interview session at his locker after Tuesday’s media-open OTA practice.

“I mean, everyone sees it,” Chase added. “We all see what he does to this team, the energy he brought back the day he came in.”

That “energy” could have been described as a distraction given that Hendrickson arrived to take some shots at head coach Zac Taylor and the front office and did so on the field by calling his own news conference while players were still finishing up practice.

Those may have been what Burrow was referencing when he said of Hendrickson, “I'm sure there's things he'd like to have back” during the quarterback’s news conference last week.

“He's very well thought out in his process and what he's trying to do,” Burrow added. “If he thinks that's the way to go, then that's the way to go."

There was a palpable buzz with Hendrickson in attendance May 13 as many players thought his arrival – his first of the offseason – could have signaled a new contract was imminent.

That, of course, was not the case.

And there has been no progress since

Per a report from ESPN, Hendrickson is “extremely dug in” on the idea that he will not play this season under his current contract.

Chase didn’t talk specifics when it came to what a new Hendrickson contract should look like.

Regardless of the amount of money and length, Chase said one thing was for sure:

“He deserves it.”