Cincinnati Bengals stars Trey Hendrickson and Joe Burrow are in the news ... and they have ESPN chasing its own tail in trying to cover them.
During an appearance Monday on Get Up, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said a lot of words about the QB Burrow and tied them to a lot of other words about the contract holdout Hendrickson ...
And the knots are difficult to navigate. To wit, the "new'' stuff ...
"I was told,'' Fowler said, citing that he spoke to a "source,'' "that Burrow really doesn't blame people behind the scenes, front offices, coaching staff, other players, when it comes to football operations. He puts it all on his shoulders and says, 'Hey, we have to get this done. I'm the quarterback of this franchise, let's do it.'
"But he does acknowledge that this is a distraction, that getting Hendrickson done is important.''
A source said all of that? What a mouthful.
Burrow doesn't "blame'' anybody for the Hendrickson conflict, instead putting it all on his own shoulders? Why?
ESPN knows exactly what it is doing here. By tying Burrow's money and leadership and emotion to the Hendrickson situation, it is adding a layer of drama to the saga that doesn't likely exist. ... and suddenly a facade of controversy is born.
And then there is the "old'' stuff, regurgitated now by Bristol ...
From Fowler: "Even though the Bengals and Hendrickson have resumed contract talks in recent weeks, it has not led to a deal. My sense is Hendrickson would like long-term security despite being age 30. He doesn't really want a shorter-term deal. ...
"We know this is going to be a big number. He just wants something that can measure with his skill set as one of the top five or six pass rushers in the entire NFL. So, he's dug in here though, make no mistake.
"Missing training camp, even missing games is a real possibility on the Bengals' radar right now."
And again ... We already knew that Hendrickson has made it clear that he does not plan to play for the Bengals in 2025 without a new contract, and we don't need a source.
We have Trey saying it.
We already know "it has not led to a deal.'' We already know "he would like long-term security.'' We already know this is going to be a big number.''
As is too often the case with ESPN, this is all simply stirring the pot ... and then re-stirring it.
Hendrickson is set to enter the final year of his current deal in 2025 and after coming off back-to-back monster years - 17.5 sacks in 2023 and then again in 2024 - he believes he's due an upgrade in an extension.
He's now a First Team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler and he's watched the often-frugal Bengals sign Burrow weapons Ja'Marr Chase (who signed a four-year, $161 million deal) and Tee Higgins (who signed a four-year, $115 million contract) get theirs.
And now Hendrickson - who claims he's been lied to by a Bengals front office that promised he'd be taken care of - wants to get his.
And that is nothing new ... and that has nothing to do with Joe Burrow.