Trey Hendrickson hits Bengals with harsh truth after showing up to watch voluntary workouts amid contract troubles

Trey Hendrickson highlights Bengals' double standard with pay cuts

Hendrickson is going through all this trouble in order to sign a long-term extension with Cincinnati, as a long-term extension is not what the team is offering. He wants to be paid what he believes he’s worth, and he knows the Bengals certainly care about the value of each of player.

Cincinnati executed pay cuts for both running back Zack Moss and safety Geno Stone in recent weeks, decreasing their base salaries this year and reducing their salary cap hits in the process.

Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last year, feels his coming to the team for a pay raise is not being viewed in the same light as the club decreasing pay to players they deemed didn’t perform to their standard.

“If I sat here with four sacks I think they’d want a little (money) back,” Hendrickson told Cincinnati.com’s Kelsey Conway. “That is fair to me, and I think it’s fair to all 53 other players that play. The other way, I don’t think they think is fair.”

While the Bengals have the leverage to force players like Moss and Stone to take pay cuts in order to stay on the roster, they don't have to sign Hendrickson to the deal he wants and leverage still is on their side of the table. Hendrickson doesn't get paid the $16 million left on on his contract without playing this season.

It's a harsh truth Hendrickson laid out for everyone to take in. The business side of the NFL can get very cutthroat, and while Hendrickson doesn't have to worry about a pay cut coming his way, he appears a long way from capturing the contract he really wants.

Continuing to take all of this to the media is a bold strategy for Hendrickson. Cincinnati historically likes to keep negotiations, ongoing or not, private and out of the press' ears.

While he stays in front of a microphone, Hendrickson clearly isn't afraid to tell it like it is.